Iping Silver-studded Blues.

 Going back in time to when Lisa and I returned from our epic Scotland trip, the day following our return, Lisa was busy, so I was heading back to Seaford.

However, as I had missed seeing the Silver-studded Blues in 2023, and as I was already halfway to the site, as I was in Worthing, I decided that it would be a great opportunity to head to Iping Common, near Midhurst, to catch up with this delightful butterfly.

I would have liked to have got there at the crack of dawn, so I could try to find them at roost, but as the weather was not going to be amazingly hot, with quite a bit of cloud, I thought I would probably see them at roost some of the day anyway.

Seeing reports from across the country, it seemed that the Silver-studded Blue was actually having a reasonable year, unlike most species of butterfly.

I headed straight away to an area where I have seen the butterfly in years gone by, and it wasn't long at all before I started to see some of them flying low over the heather. I was really hoping to see a mating pair, but alas, that was not going to happen. Most of the butterflies were very flighty, despite the weather, but I was soon photographing a female butterfly that was sticking to a small area as it nectared on the heather.

Female Silver-studded Blue.

Occasionally the butterfly would pause and open its wings to gain heat from the sun through the light cloud cover.

Female Silver-studded Blue.

I actually spent around 30 minutes with this individual, as it gave me many opportunities to photograph her. Both as she carried on nectaring and then basking open winged.

The same Female Silver-studded Blue.

Eventually, I left her in peace, and headed further along the path. As usual here, the butterflies were often in small groups, and it was after leaving the main path, that I found a male that allowed a closer inspection.

Male Silver-studded Blue.

After a longer walk around the common, I was back to where I had started with the female. By now she had moved on to another area, but I was then treated to a very fresh male butterfly. He was nectaring on the heather, giving me the odd opportunity. Not quite as confiding as the female, but still very nice.

Male Silver-studded Blue.

By now heavier clouds were building, and eventually the male went to roost in the heather. On looking up to the sky, I could see that lighter clouds were coming soon, and as they arrived, the male opened his wings quite wide to show off its beautiful blue top wings.

Male Silver-studded Blue.

It was fabulous being able to catch up with these butterflies after not seeing them for a couple of years. I was very lucky that the weather helped, by not being too hot and sunny, and it was also good to find some in immaculate condition.

A couple of weeks later, Lisa also had the opportunity to seeing some Silver-studded Blues, at the other main Sussex site on Ashdown Forest. By now these were not quite as fresh, but still not bad. The weather however, was not at all good, with cold strong breezes and even some light rain. I ended up not taking any photos, not actually that unusual, but Lisa did get some nice images.