The cool spring has continue at least in coastal Yorkshire with an insect equivalent of the silent spring and lucky to see one butterfly a day usually Holly Blue in my garden. Things started to warm up on Friday afternoon and although still only a few butterflies it did include my first Large Skipper while walking the dog in Cottingham.
Large Skipper-Cottingham-9/6/23
With this in mind Ricky arranged to take me to Farnham for the sole tiny colony of Small Blue in Yorkshire on Monday. Working from a photograph Ricky copied from a fellow butterfly and orchid lister at Yatts Farm last year we managed to match the image to the verge at the entrance to the village on the Knaresborough road. The sort of verge many will envy with Pyramidal Orchid and Common Rose-rose as well as Small Blue food-plant, Kidney-vetch.
Pyramidal Orchid [left] and Common Rock-rose [right].
However although covered with damselflies we found no butterflies.
I walked further out of the village until it matched the photo and soon found a Large Skipper and a few Mint Moth.
Mint Moth
I then had a small dark butterfly that in flight was similar to Brown Argus but once settled was a Small Blue.
Two different Small Blue on Kidney-vetch
I urgently hailed Ricky but fortunately the butterfly, although often deep in cover, remained in the same small area all the time we were on site. Found a second one nearby but only briefly. Their sedentary nature and likely small number made us realise how lucky we had been to even see one. Also had a few Meadow Brown, my first this year, but in general very few butterflies for this time of year.
Meadow Brown
No birds in this blog but many listers will recognise this view from the first Pacific Diver twitch in January 2007.
Farnham sailing club, opposite the Small Blue site
Erich's birding and biking blog 