This month, Tani, Eric and Helen took our small group on a voyage of discovery starting at the Tony Locke memorial orchard before wending its way out on to Studland Common and in and out of mainly sunlit glades.
This area is monitored for butterflies weekly throughout the spring and summer as part of our Biodiversity Action Plan
The weather was partly cloudy with some good bursts of sunshine and a light breeze and we were hopeful of some good spots.
The highlight of the walk was definitely spotting a migrating clouded yellow in a sunny glade, the first seen in this area this year.
A good number of gatekeepers (52) and meadow browns (53) were seen, along with large white (3), common blue (3) and speckled wood (3). A comma was spotted sunbathing and a holly blue flitting around in the lower part of a tree canopy. The small copper, purple fritillary and the Essex skipper eluded us.
It was magical way to spend a couple of hours observing some of nature’s most beautiful creatures. Thank you Tani, Eric and Helen for taking the time to host such an enjoyable morning.