Just a Comma.

 With large numbers of 3rd brood Wall Brown flying from early September, I decided to do a Wall Brown count on a day that promised to be suitable. Well, it was at the start of the count, and numbers grew as I approached the 2 mile, halfway point of the walk. However, just after this it started to rain!!

Feeling a little frustrated I decided to wait for 15 minutes to see if the shower was going to be short lived. While I was waiting in a small wooded section, sheltering from the light drizzle, I spotted a very fresh Comma. Of course, in the rain it was not going anywhere either, and as it was posing so well I filled my boots. The resulting photos I feel are my best of the year.

Comma.

The day was now a very successful one, and the fact that the weather did improve again, and I also had my best ever 3rd brood Wall Brown count of 72 making it all very worthwhile.

Female Wall Brown.

The 3rd brood started on 23rd August, the earliest date I have seen the 3rd brood. The first 3rd brood that I saw was a female that was actually mating with a male from the 2nd brood. He was rather tatty and tired looking and even had a red mite attached to him, which only happens on older individuals. As I was following the pair down a slope near High and Over, I spotted a very nice Autumn Lady's Tresses orchid, which was too nice to ignore.

Autumn Lady's Tresses.

A couple of weeks later I was walking through Abbott's Wood with Chris, my eldest son, who was recovering from a minor operation. I didn't bother taking the camera as it was just a casual walk, but halfway around I spotted a superb Panther Cap fungi. The following day I decided to head back with the camera so I could photograph it properly. Of course, the fungi had opened fully, which is not quite so nice to photograph. However, as I had never photographed this species before I got a few shots of the main fungi and a smaller one nearby that was still growing.

Panther Cap.

Panther Cap.

After photographing these I walked further around the wood and came across some Devil's-bit Scabious that were being visited by 3 Comma and another female Wall Brown.

Comma on Devil's-bit Scabious.

Female Wall Brown on Devil's-bit Scabious.