Botany Bay

 

Monday and I was out with Dave hoping to pick up Purple Hairstreaks and perhaps a late Purple Emperor to add to my year list. It didn't look very promising. The forecast had been for some good sunny spells but we had rain down on the coast so we headed north looking for a break in the cloud cover.

Our usual hunting spots looked wet and muddy and in the end we decided to head over to Chiddingfold Forest in the hope that it would brighten up by the time we got there. We parked up at the Botany Bay entrance. It had stopped raining but with it still being overcast and the temperature stuck at fifteen degrees there was nothing flying.

We walked in to the triangle and I can't remember seeing a single butterfly on the way. A more detailed search when we got there turned up our first Wood White and once we had our eye in we found dozens of them. For once the wet and cold conditions worked to our advantage. The Wood Whites were still perched up in their roost positions with many of them still covered in dew.

The light was dull but it seems to suit the Wood Whites, better still there was no wind to disturb these delicate looking butterflies, so there were plenty of picture opportunities.

And a shot from a few days earlier. The Wood Whites were flying and nectaring that day but with a stronger wind it was difficult to get sharp pictures.

We waited around until early afternoon in the hope that the weather would break. No luck unfortunately but it did give me the chance to find a few moths.

I spotted four different species that I was interested in, plus a few Grass Veneers. The most common was the Shaded Broad-bar with something like half a dozen seen. They were difficult to photograph in the dense undergrowth but eventually I got a decent shot.

Shaded Broad-bar - Scotopteryx chenopodiata

I also saw a Common Carpet but I couldn't get close to that. There were also a number of micros there but two in particular were new for me.

Common Roller - Ancylis badiana

Ochreous Pearl - Anania crocealis

In the end I had to pot the Ochreous Pearl in order to keep it still long enough to get a picture.

This is only the second time I have been out actively searching the undergrowth for Moths, the first being the visit to the South Stoke Water Meadows. Getting decent pictures is harder but an active hunt is certainly more interesting than just emptying the trap in the morning.