Dorset and Wiltshire Butterflies

My original plan had been to visit Salisbury in Wiltshire for a few days away for my birthday so I could visit nearby Bentley Woods to look for purple emperors, a little late in the season in normal years but too late this year due to the amazing hot and dry weather we have been experiencing recently so curtailing the season early - hence my visit to Bentley Woods by train back in June.

And so on Wednesday 18th July we drove to Salisbury but with Bentley Woods no longer on the itinerary and on the drive there we stopped off at Athelhampton House and Gardens in Dorset for a visit. The house was very interesting and the gardens were lovely and I managed some interesting wildlife sightings.

Comma, holly blue, red admiral, large white, meadow brown, gatekeeper and small white were all seen along with a hummingbird hawkmoth, beautiful demoiselle, flyover siskin and a family party of spotted flycatchers moving through the trees.

Comma

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

Beautiful Demoiselle

Driving on to Salisbury and we stopped off in a layby on the A35 near Bere Regis where I wandered around the very dry vergeside vegetation looking for Essex skippers which are found here. I had a very brief view of a skipper before it dashed off, it had the black tips to the underside of its antenna indicative of an Essex skipper but despite searching I couldn't refind it.

Common blues were flying around and I watched one checking out what I thought was a female common blue but on closer inspection I realised it was a brown argus, appearing newly emerged and in beautiful condition.

Brown Argus

Brown Argus

Further searching in hot and humid conditions while the traffic thundered past along the carriageway was proving fruitless and just as I was about to give up and head back to the car I eventually found an Essex skipper which was quite flighty and a swine to observe but I managed to get a few photos of the black undersides of its antenna - I was very pleased to find one as it has been over 32 years since I last saw one back in Suffolk.

Essex Skipper

Essex Skipper

Essex Skipper 

Essex Skipper 

Essex Skipper

Essex Skipper

Essex Skipper

Essex Skipper

On to Salisbury and The Grasmere Hotel where we stayed for 3 nights was very nice, the room was cool and quiet and with no noisy herring gulls nearby so we actually slept very well. The hotel was on the river and with views of the cathedral and we had a very pleasent stay.

Thursday 19th July and it was hot and sunny and humid as usual and we headed out to Old Sarum for a visit, somewhere we have visited twice before in the winter but never in the summer. It was very interesting but for me the butterflies stole the show, they were everywhere - small white, brimstone, peacock, small tortoiseshell, red admiral, ringlet, common blue, brown argus, large white, gatekeeper, meadow brown, marbled white, chalkhill blue, green veined white and clouded yellow - amazing!

 Brimstone

 Large White

 Small Tortoiseshell

 Chalkhill Blue

Clouded Yellow

Also seen was a dusky sallow feeding on a thistle flower, a new moth for me, along with the usual silver y and 6 spot burnet, and yellowhammers were busily singing away.

Dusky Sallow

Onwards to nearby Woodhenge, a new place for us, and we followed a National Trust walking trail around the nearby area. A corn bunting and another spotted flycatcher family were the bird highlights with more brown argus and common blues being the butterfly highlights. I checked out all the skippers flitting about but all the ones I was able to identify were small and not Essex. The views on the walk were lovely across Salisbury Plain towards Stonehenge and the Barrows were interesting too but the traffic jams on the A303 didn't look much fun.

 Spotted Flycatcher 

 Brown Argus

Small Skipper - orange underside to the antenna tips

Small Skipper

Our last visit of the day was to Figsbury Ring, a National Trust managed Iron Age Fort and another site awash with butterflies - chalkhill blue, brown argus, large white, meadow brown, brimstone, small white, common blue, marbled white, holly blue and gatekeeper all flying with small heath and faded dark green fritillary also seen along with a Pyrausta nigrata.

 Dark Green Fritillary

 Small Heath

 Chalkhill Blue on Harebell

Chalkhill Blue 

Pyrausta nigrata

Friday 20th July and another hot and sunny day greeted us as we drove to Old Wardour Castle near Tisbury for a visit, a very peaceful and interesting place with a red kite flying over adding some avian interest.

Next stop was Heale Gardens near Salisbury where another family party of spotted flycatchers were seen in the trees, a hobby dashed past overhead and brimstones and green veined whites flitted about with a Pyrausta aurata.

 Spotted Flycatcher 

Spotted Flycatcher 

Pyrausta aurata

The final stop of the day was Woodhenge again where we had another wander around, seeing small heath, yellowhammers and a roe deer on a walk around the area.

Yellowhammer with House Sparrow

Saturday 21st July and our final day before heading back to Plymouth was spent looking around Salisbury and admiring the amazing architecture. A look along the river bank in the hotel garden before checking out revealed a few banded demoiselles resting on the vegetation along with a brief view of a green looking damselfly, probably an emerald damselfly.

We visited the cathedral and did a tour of the spire, something we did 20+years ago and which was a great experience then as now. I didn't manage a sighting of any peregrines which usually nest on the spire (but not this year) although I did hear a bird calling a few times.

Salisbury Cathedral

And so a great trip away, good weather, some interesting sight seeing and loads of butterflies - perfect!

Dorset Birthday Butterfly Heaven

My birthday was on Monday July 17th and the weather was glorious - very hot and sunny, just like last year - and so it was off to the coast for the day starting with a drive to Durdle Door, somewhere I have wanted to visit for many years now after learning all about the geology of the area for my O-level geography course many years ago.

We walked down the cliff path to the beach at Durdle Door along with many other people and it was already baking hot. The views of the coast and Durdle Door itself were stunning and along the walk I managed to see a small blue, a clouded yellow, a male chalkhill blue, common blue, marbled white, gatekeeper, small skipper, meadow brown, red admiral and lots of Lulworth skippers - fantastic!

Durdle Door

Chalkhill Blue, Durdle Door

Small Blue, Durdle Door

Lulworth Skipper, Durdle Door

Walking back up the cliff path was hard going in the heat as was the walk along the clifftops to Lulworth Cove but again there were plenty of butterflies to keep me occupied including dark green fritillary, painted lady and yet more Lulworth skippers.

Dark Green Fritillary, Lulworth Cove

Dark Green Fritillary

Lulworth Skipper

Lulworth Skipper

After some lunch at a pub in Lulworth Cove we headed down to the beach for a look at the stunning scenery, unfortunately the firing ranges were closed so we couldn't walk along the cliffs but we headed up to the small headland to the right of the cove where the views were amazing and yet more Lulworth skippers were seen along with a small heath and a dark green fritillary.

Lulworth Cove

Lulworth Cove

Lulworth Skipper

Lulworth Skipper

With the heat rising we moved on to Kimmeridge Bay for the afternoon where we sat on the beach and admired the interesting geology while Jack splashed around in the water. We found some fossils in the rocks and a Roesel's Bush-cricket, a new species for me, looking a little out of place amongst the boulders, while 2 ravens were seen flying overhead.

Fossil, Kimmeridge Bay

Kimmeridge Bay

Roesel's Bush-cricket

Roesel's Bush-cricket

We headed back to the cottage at the end of the day feeling very sun kissed and enjoyed a barbeque for tea - a very lovely birthday day indeed.

Tuesday 18th July and it was hot and sunny again but very windy and with thunderstorms and rain forecast for the afternoon David and I headed off in the morning to the nearby RSPB reserve at Arne for a walk, meeting the others at the café on the reserve later in the morning. A look for raft spiders on a small pond drew a blank but I did have some nice views of keeled skimmers and small red damselflies, a new damselfly for me. There was no sign of any Dartford warblers in the blowy conditions with a flyover siskin and tree pipit being the only small birds of note but I did get to see an osprey perched in a dead tree eating a fish, a little distant even with a telescope but a bonus bird for the day. A single grayling was also seen feeding on heather flowers in a sheltered spot.

Keeled Skimmer, Arne

Keeled Skimmer

Small Red Damselfly, Arne

Small Red Damselfly

Osprey, Arne

Grayling, Arne

Small Copper, Arne

With the clouds rolling in again we drove to nearby Poole for some lunch and a look around the shops. I watched 2 common terns for a while as they flew around the marina before we drove back to the cottage, arriving just as the rain began to fall and the thunder and lightning began.

Common Tern, Poole

The following day was cool and cloudy and mizzly and so after a quick look around Swanage where I saw a Sandwich tern in the mist and then some lunch at Corfe Castle it was time to head back to Plymouth - but what an amazing few days away I had had - gorgeous scenery in a stunning part of the UK, butterflies galore (21 species) including 2 lifers, good birding, a new damselfly, a new cricket, a visit to a RSPB reserve new to me, interesting geology and a fantastic time with my family, all in all a brilliant birthday time.