Dan's Pictures, Places and Creatures

I post images I take of wildlife and landscapes and write about my wild experiences. I'm a 29 year old guy. I take pictures of wildlife, landscapes and anything else I find...

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Global Bird Fair 2026 and time in Rutland Water Lyndon and Egleton nature reserves 10th-12th July 2026, Durlston and a search for a Hampshire rare bird 13th July 2026 and lunch time and evening walks at Lakeside Country Park 14th July 2026

The photos in this set from a busy long weekend and today are of; Lesser Black-backed Gull at Lakeside Country Park today, Ruddy Darter dragonfly at Rutland Water's Egleton Nature Reserve on Friday, Yellow-legged Gull at the Lyndon Nature Reserve on Saturday, Marbled White and Lulworth Skipper at Durlston in Dorset yesterday, Great Crested Grebe and view at Lakeside this lunch time and a photo of me and my Mum with Megan McCubbin at the Bird Fair on Saturday.

One of my favourite times of the year arrived between Friday and Sunday as we went to the East Midlands for Rutland Water’s Global Bird Fair. As ever it was a socially stimulating, engaging and inspirational few days all for a good cause, this year raising money for “Preventing Island Extinctions” in São Tomé and Príncipe. Across the weekend it was lovely to speak to and hear talks from a diverse array of nice and passionate people, some whom we knew already others who we’d never met. Some of the famous faces it was a pleasure to chat to and see talks from and/or involved in a quiz or panel discussions were Megan McCubbin, Simon King, David Lindo, Mike and Zachary Dilger, Lira Valencia, Lucy Lapwing, Dr Sean McCormack, Robert Fuller, Indy Greene and Dr Erica McAlister. All of the talks were moving and thought-provoking and the Bird Brain of Britain, Room 101 and Merlin (app) vs human quizzes were hilarious and fun to watch. The latter which Megan and Indy were playing in this year was amazing to watch and the lady from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology was able to offer some fascinating insights into how the famous avian identification app works. I enjoyed wandering around the various stands in the fair and seeing Goldfinches being ringed at the ringing demonstration.

To compliment the hustle and bustle of the fair we had some fantastic time released into nature with some sensational bird and insect watching. Headline species included splendid views of the Osprey pair and their three recently fledged chicks at Manton Bay, I enjoyed wholesome views of this species which is one my favourites and I get so much out of seeing always with great in flight views where it was funny to see a Woodpigeon take off in a panic as one moved towards it as well as them in the nest. It was unique to see the chicks on the bank and a low perch which I’d rarely seen before, joyful time spent with one of the standout birds of my year. Another of my key birds of the year also shone as we enjoyed excellent views of a smart Yellow-legged Gull at Lyndon. Lyndon on Saturday evening was also as it was two years ago at a similar time of day the place where I saw my milestone 200th bird of the year, and it was exactly the same species as 2024, a dashing Green Sandpiper. Last year was our big year reaching 238 species so I knew it was be a tough act to follow but we have had some incredible birding experiences this year and I’m so pleased to reach the 200s for a sixth time.

There were moments of absolute euphoria at Egleton on Friday as we spotted a Lesser Emperor dragonfly and enjoyed it parading in front of a hide for a bit with its distinctive and gemstone like small patch of blue compared to the also seen Emperor. Quite a rare species I had only really heard of/looked them up in the last year or so, so I knew what it was when I saw it and was delighted. It’s another massive moment in what’s becoming my greatest odanata year and that day I saw eight other dragonfly and damselfly species which must be a record for me. Brown Hawker with their charming rusty looking wings was one and a highlight across the weekend seeing them drift across clearings above paths with my first Southern Hawker of the year seen too. There were a great load of butterflies about and I enjoyed fine views of Painted Ladies in the hot sun at Egleton in a ninth county this year as it’s turning into a big year for them.

Red Kites were a constant on the trip and Kingfisher, bronze Black-tailed Godwits, Curlew, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Great White Egrets, Teal, Swift and Sand Martins were other bird highlights. Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Holly Blue, Speckled Wood, Peacock, Red Admiral, Comma and Large, Small and Green-veined Whites were other super butterflies seen. Other highlights were moths Vapourer, Swallow-tailed, Canary-shouldered Thorn, Drinker and Elephant hawk-moth caught from a trap at the Butterfly Conservation stand at the Bird Fair, my first Field Vole of the year at Lyndon, Common Red Soldier beetle, Seven-spotted Ladybird, Marmalade hoverfly, bee, wasps including a Potter Spider wasp, cricket or grasshopper seen quickly, Grey Cross spider and Leiobunum rotundum Harvestman. The other of the nine dragonfly and damselfly species seen across the weekend were radiant ruby male and cheerful female Ruddy Darters, Black-tailed Skimmer, Broad-bodied Chaser, Common Blue Damselfly and Blue-tailed Damselfly.

There were some splendid summer flowers seen across the weekend including one of my favourites tansy, nettle-leaved bellflower, fox-and-cubs, upright hedge-parsley, wild carrot, marsh woundwort, tufted vetch, scabious, viper’s-bugloss and scentless mayweed with sloes and guelder rose berries also interesting to see. It was also lovely to be immersed in the picturesque Rutland Water and take in the postcode image-esque local villages including Rockingham and Caldecott on the way in and out from the hotel each day which I always enjoy in bright weather. An unforgettable trip as ever.

Yesterday on a day of leave I take off as a post-Bird Fair buffer to going back to work as we travel home after the fair closes on the Sunday since we didn't manage to do it the weekend before last as planned we made a trip that is a massive part of our summer in itself, going to Durlston in Dorset in a quest for localised and minute Lulworth Skipper butterflies and we did get some excellent views of crescent-branded females and dusky mini males. Another astounding insect surprise this long weekend was seeing a couple of Clouded Yellow butterflies, always fantastic to see these unmistakeable sun-coloured butterflies. After the joy of adding Lulworth Skipper to my year list it was one of our next targets so it felt amazing to get that seen, in what is also one of my best ever years of butterflies I'm up to forty three seen for the year levelling the totals of my last two years and making my year list my joint third highest ever. I also loved seeing Six-spot Burnet, Hummingbird hawk-moth, Stonechat and restharrow on precious time by the sea at Durlston. It would've been rude not to pop into Miller's Pond in Southampton on the way home yesterday close to my sister's house where a rare Black-crowned Night Heron is currently present, I was delighted we caught some thrilling glimpses of it, only my second ever seen. In my sister's garden, on the way to the pond and at Lakeside today another big migratory insect trend for me alongside the Painted Ladies, Clouded Yellow and the fair few Hummingbird Hawk-moths I've seen in good conditions for insects arriving in the UK got underway seeing flamboyant Jersey Tiger moths.

Also good to see at Lakeside today were Moorhen, Common Blue butterfly, Meadow Browns, Black-tailed Skimmer, purple loosestrife and dock.

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View and Gatekeeper on lesser burdock at Pennington at the Lymington-Keyhaven Nature Reserve 18/07/2026. It was also amazing to see the Pectoral Sandpiper on Keyhaven lagoon, thanks to a kind person we got speaking to who re-picked out the bird for us we got some astonishing views of this gorgeous wader, one of a few smashing wader species I've seen lately and this year. We don't see them every year last seeing one in 2022 and it's only the fifth we've ever seen. It was also great to see Common Scoter, Swallow, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Emperor dragonfly and sea lavender and golden samphire.

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Sun going down tonight, Hampshire, UK

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Radiant ruby

The charming ruddy darter

Jewel of the summer

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I am having a memorable year for seeing and photographing juvenile birds of a variety of species, so I thought I'd bring together seven of the photos. They are of; young Redshank at RSPB Titchwell in June, Tawny owlet at Fishlake Meadows in May, young Peregrine at the old St Thomas Church in Winchester in June, Great Crested Grebe with a humbug chick on its back at Lakeside Country Park in May, juvenile Little Grebes at Cley and Gannet and chick with the photo also including adult Guillemots at RSPB Bempton Cliffs in June and juvenile Starlings in the garden in May. Other standout species I have seen young of this year have been Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Greylag and Canada Goose goslings at Lakeside, White Stork, Coot, Razorbill and Grey Wagtail. I love watching young birds and it is intriguing relating what are different looking individuals to the familiar adults of the species and it's always a sight that epitomises the hope of spring and summer that is brought by witnessing new life. It has been a fulfilling, pleasurable and exciting theme of these past few months to see these baby birds with the trend extending to mammals somewhat with great views of New Forest Pony foals and a Fallow Deer doe at Knepp.

[dansnaturepictures]

Mallard, purple loosestrife, my first Large White on patch this year, mating Gatekeepers and view at Lakeside Country Park and Fulvous Pearl moth at home today 7th July 2026 and Emperor dragonfly at Testwood Lakes on Sunday.

Other highlights today were Brown Argus, Small Copper, Green Woodpecker, Great Crested Grebe chicks, fleabane, hawkweed oxtongue and marjoram. Common Tern, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Redshank, Peacock, Green-veined White, Holly Blues, Black-tailed Skimmer, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Common Red Soldier beetle and marsh thistle have been other standout species of recent days.

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05/07/2026-We did our first moth trap* of the year last night which we have occasionally done in the summer and into autumn months since 2023 with a homemade trap to see what we can attract and continue to learn more about moths. We're not sure we quite got the positioning right last night with a modest haul of three of two species, the delightful Riband Wave in the first picture in this photoset and two Long-legged Tabbies one shown by the second picture. That made it a nice gentle introduction back into them for me with two species I had seen before but were great additions to my year. As much as seeing the moths I like the trying to identify them and the reviewing them and piecing things together is so absorbing which makes it a nice peaceful thing to do and it satisfies me to broaden my knowledge, we'll definitely try to do some more again as the summer goes on. It's been a great moth weekend with fabulous Hummingbird hawk-moths seen both yesterday at Magdalen Hill Down and a trip to Testwood Lakes this afternoon.

*As I don't think I've really posted about our moth traps before or at least not frequently/for a while; just to clarify when I say moth trap I mean it in the friendly sense of attracting moths to light, looking at and photographing what comes and releasing them. Ours is a container, light and a collection of egg boxes. Just in case the term gives the wrong idea for anyone who has not come across it.

[dansnaturepictures]

My first Chalkhill Blue of the year, Yellowhammer and a view over chalk grassland at Magdalen Hill Down 4th July 2026

Painted Lady, Meadow Brown, Green-veined White, Hummingbird hawk-moth, Buzzard, Linnet, Goldfinch, knapweed broomrape and clustered bellflower were other highlights on the walk with masses of Starlings nearly a hundred young and adult enjoyed at home today.

[dansnaturepictures]

Six of my favourite photos I took in June 2026 and month summary

The photos are of; Razorbill at RSPB Bempton Cliffs, Swallowtail and Four-spotted Chaser at NWT Hickling Broad, purple loosestrife at Lakeside Country Park, sun going down at home and view at Thornwick Bay.

I was inspired by bramble bushes bustling with Painted Ladies and allowing exhilarating glimpses of splendid Swallowtails in Norfolk which was a dream come true, I was invigorated by being immersed in a seabird spectacle with Gannets, Kittiwakes and more circling below Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire and at home in Hampshire ebullient pyramidal orchids and tufted vetch helped entrance me in summer’s natural wonders.

June was perhaps one of my greatest ever months of butterflies, within a strong run for seeing an array of dazzling species after the Swallowtail I went onto see Marbled White, Small Skipper, a nice few White Admirals, Silver-washed Fritillary, Ringlet, Purple Hairstreak, Essex Skipper, White-letter Hairstreak, Gatekeeper, Dark Green Fritillary and Purple Emperor for the first time this year. The circus of colour that epitomises summer was enhanced further by lots of Large Skippers, Adonis Blue, Small Blue, Holly Blue, Small Heath, Small Coppers, Meadow Browns, Green-veined White, Small White, Brimstone, Speckled Wood, Comma, Red Admiral, Peacock after it's win in Butterfly Conservation's favourite butterfly poll and Small Tortoiseshell. Lovely moths seen this month were White Ermine, Silver-ground Carpet, Hook-streaked Grass Veneer, Green Oak Tortrix, Sulphur Knapweed moth, Common Pug, Yellow Shell, Middle-barred Minor, Silver Y, Elephant and Poplar Hawk-moths, Cinnabar moths and Five-spot Burnet. Yellow-tail moth, Garden Tiger moth and Drinker moth caterpillars were a trio of pretty sights in Norfolk with Cinnabar moth caterpillars seen this month too.

There were some other epic and beautiful birds seen this month too with Puffin, Guillemot, Razorbill, Fulmar, Great Skua, Tree Sparrow, Linnet and Corn Bunting also enjoyed on the Yorkshire mini trip and Roseate Terns, Common Cranes including young, Spoonbill, Bittern, Hobby, Marsh Harrier, Osprey and Nightingale heard other stars of the Norfolk and Suffolk week. Cuckoo heard, Buzzard, Red Kite, Kestrel, Rook, Pied Wagtail, Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, Skylark, Whitethroat, Blackcap, House Martin, Swallow, Swift, wonderful White Storks at Knepp, Avocet and Redshank including young, Knot, Sanderling, Garganey and Common, Little and Sandwich Tern were other standout species across my June. Peregrine chicks in Winchester and lovely views of the growing Great Crested Grebe chicks and Canada and Greylag Goose goslings as well as Great Spotted Woodpecker and Kingfisher at Lakeside Country Park were good working day sightings.

It was a memorable mammal month with exciting Otter and Chinese Water Deer views alongside the many Muntjacs in Norfolk with a nice sighting of the latter at Bolderwood in the New Forest once home as well as Fallow Deer, Fallow including a fawn and Red Deer were also stars on the Knepp trip. Beautiful Brown Hare, Rabbit, interesting Grey Squirrel views and Grey Seal pup were other highlights. I also enjoyed seeing some dazzling dragonflies and damselflies this month including Norfolk Hawker, more top Four-spotted Chaser views this year, Broad-bodied Chaser, Emperor, Golden-ringed Dragonfly twice in a great year I’m having for them, Black-tailed Skimmer, Ruddy Darter, Beautiful and Banded Demoiselle, Common Blue Damselfly and a thrilling moment seeing a Blue-tailed Damselfly in our barrel pond in the garden for the first time. Green Tiger, Swollen-thighed, oedemera lurida, Seven-spotted Ladybird, Common Red and Silis ruficollis soldier beetles, Donacia clavipes and Black-and-yellow Longhorn beetles, Yellow-haired Sun fly, Marmalade and Long hoverfly and others, bees, Speckled Bush cricket a revelation of the month, Meadow Grasshopper, Turf Running-spider, Long-bodied Cellar spiders and Giant House spider were other varied highlights this month.

More orchids greater butterfly, bee, fragrant, southern marsh and northern marsh shone in a strong month of flowers. Other enchanting species seen included mignonette, scarlet pimpernel, honeysuckle, hedge woundwort, marsh woundwort, self-heal, broad-leaved enchanter’s nightshade, broad-leaved sweet pea, water-lilies including yellow water-lily, foxgloves, tormentil, viper’s-bugloss, common mallow, musk mallow, squinancywort, lady’s bedstraw, meadowsweet, wild carrot, upright hedge-parsley, hogweed, yarrow, wild parsnip, St. John's-wort, ragwort, common toadflax, ivy-leaved toadflax, marjoram, melilot, red valerian, valerian, vervain, great willowherb, rosebay willowherb, chicory, centaury, sainfoin, hoary plantain, restharrow, creeping and musk thistle, agrimony, red campion, water-crowfoot, bird’s-foot trefoil, white clover, knapweed, great bindweed with a wild strawberry fruit and laurel and cuckoo-pint berries and goatsbeard seed heads also pleasant sights. Wolf’s milk slime mold was a fascinating sight at Standing Hat in the New Forest. Be it fen, marsh, broad, lake, river, varied coast, woodland, grassy and well vegetated/rewilded areas, garden or downland I’ve been immersed in some stunning landscapes this month as I enjoyed a light and vibrant time of year. Have a good July all.

[dansnaturepictures]

Greylag Geese, beautiful purple loosestrife, a curious sight of a Canada Goose with a Greylag Goose gosling it seems to have welcomed into its brood I saw it feeding alongside Canada Goose goslings recently, tall hogweed, view of a nice meadow and Holly Blue butterfly which it was interesting to see right beside the water of the lake alongside another and a Green-veined White possibly looking to feed off minerals from goose poo at Lakeside Country Park today and majestic Purple Emperor and an exquisite Purple Hairstreak below it at Knepp yesterday. Kingfisher, House Martin, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Red Admiral, Purple Hairstreak, Black-tailed Skimmer, Common Red Soldier beetle, great willowherb and my first wild parsnip of the year were other highlights today.

Going to Knepp for our annual visit yesterday was a magical and awe-inspiring experience as always, being immersed in this revived and rich landscape, we enjoyed some of our greatest ever Purple Emperor and Purple Hairstreak views with intimate views of the former displaying/battling in the air and a stupendous view of an open winged Purple Hairstreak showing off its absorbing irriedescent purple colour. There were also astonishing views of White Storks in flight and in their nests and Red Kite, Painted Lady, Marbled White and common toadflax were other highlights. Other standout species of recent days were our first White-letter Hairstreak since 2023 at Peartree Green, Dark Green Fritillary at Stockbridge Down as we added some amazing butterflies to our year over the weekend, Gatekeepers at Peartree Green and Knepp, Essex Skipper, Linnets and wild basil.

[heskynn]

“We decided to make the most of a quiet afternoon by ringing some Manx Shearwater chicks. With over 15,000 pairs on the island, most with a single chick down a single burrow, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was an easy, straightforward task. But the burrows which the Manxies excavate can be deep and awkward, and a few inconsiderately placed rocks and right angle bends in the tunnels made finding the chicks an epic task. Some of them are becoming quite fat but still have another 25 or so days left in their burrows before they make their first flight. The grey down which covers their body like a giant fleece insulates them well from the damp conditions in their burrow. We take wing length measurements as well as weights and this allows us to calculate their age and how well they are being fed. This particular chick is around 50 days old, and weighed over half a kilogram!” © Richard Brown

http://bardsey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/couple-of-grasshopper-warblers-blackcap.html

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All yellow: Ragwort standing proud above a sea of bird's-foot trefoil at Lakeside Country Park, Hampshire 26th June 2026

I was also thrilled to see my first Ruddy Darter of the year and ever at Lakeside, Painted Lady, Starling, tufted vetch and Grey Squirrel scurrying up trees on walks at Lakeside today.

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Long-bodied Cellar spider this evening, pyramidal orchid, views, dark mullein and musk mallow at Lakeside Country Park at lunch time 23rd June 2026 and Essex Skipper by Lakeside last Thursday. It was my first Essex Skipper ever seen at or by Lakeside and another brilliant butterfly species to see this year. Other highlights today were Swifts, House Martin, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Holly Blue, Marbled White and self-heal. Young Peregrine, Blackcap, Reed Bunting, Purple Hairstreak, Banded and Beautiful Demoiselles were other highlights of recent days.

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A brilliant brief trip to East Yorkshire to visit RSPB Bempton Cliffs and nearby Thornwick Bay 19th-21st June 2026

The photos from Saturday in this set are of; mating Five-spot Burnets at Thornwick Bay and Gannet and Razorbill, view, Red Admiral, Puffin and Gannet, Guillemots including bridled and Fulmar at Bempton Cliffs.

Realising we may miss out on seeing a Puffin this year we decided last month to have a long weekend to allow a day at RSPB Bempton Cliffs, which has coincidently been something we’ve done every two years since 2022. On Saturday it was an honour once more to have intimate encounters with seabirds, the birds that first captivated me. It was a pleasure to be surrounded by them, relaxing to just stand and focus on birds circling and packed onto cliffs and the sea below and just be mesmerised by the wealth of life around.

We were not disappointed when it came to Fratercula arctica (Atlantic Puffin) with cherished views of these sumptuous auks at Bempton and Thornwick. That’s six year lists of mine in a row that this one of my original favourite birds has featured on thanks to Yorkshire, Anglesey, Pembrokeshire for Skomer Island, Troup Head, Moray and Orkney trips over the past few years which is my longest run for that and I can’t get enough of them. Their cousins Guillemots were alluring sights once more with a bridled bird I enjoyed seeing with a white eye ring and line down it’s cheek, a colour morph that you find more of the further north you go. I was fixated by a Razorbill with wings outstretched shading it’s chick getting thrilling glimpse of this one of a few young birds seen, great to add seabirds to perhaps my best ever year of seeing and photographing young birds. I’d waited an unusually long time to see my first Fulmar of the year so I was pleased to see these albatross like elegant gliders between the two locations. With places we’ve been this year by chance I’d seen Kittiwakes on more occasions this year than any other of the six species I adore which is unusual and I was in my element watching and listening to these sharp and smart little gulls. Bempton is one of the best places in the country to see Gannets and it was a stupendous day of them getting astonishing still and in flight views of these charismatic ocean giants.

Herring Gulls a key part of the charm of the place. We were also ecstatic to spot a rare “bonxie”, a Great Skua which as documented by BBC Springwatch on Iolo Williams’ visit to Bempton in it’s final week of the series earlier this month had been hanging around. A special species to see which we had only first seen last year, on and on the way to Orkney, and it’s the fifth of last year’s pleasing list of new birds for me that we’ve gone on to see again this year after Great-tailed Grackle, Bluethroat, Woodcock and Wood Warbler,  I always love it when I can do that.

Another species we would not have seen this year without the trip as not one we see at home was Tree Sparrow and this smartly marked and chirpy bird was a delight to see especially around the visitor centre at Bempton, precious views of them. Other avian highlights included one I knew was at Bempton but had never seen there Corn Bunting seen and heard, Reed Bunting, Whitethroat, Linnet, House Martin, Swallow including young at the visitor centre, Skylark, Carrion Crow, Jackdaws and Kestrel with Yellowhammer seen and heard whilst travelling and Greenfinch heard nicely from the hotel we stayed at in Hull.

In the fine weather it was an insect fest too as a trio of dazzling butterflies; yet more Painted Ladies at Bempton in a big year for them, Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell shone. Large Skipper, Speckled Wood, Cinnabar moth, Five-spot Burnets, my first ever Middle-barred Minor and Silver-ground Carpet moths, bees, hoverfly, Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly, Seven-spotted ladybirds and other beetles and flies and crane fly and Swollen-thighed beetle intriguing company in the hotel room were also good to see. An adorable Grey Seal pup was a nice sight at Thornwick Bay although it appeared stranded but okay as we had a fascinating conversation with two heroic marine mammal rescuers on site. They were two of many lovely people we met on the trip.

I felt so connected to the vast blue sea on the trip and it’s wonder and the rich meadows of Bempton were also a hub of life. Red campion, hogweed, common spotted and northern marsh orchids brought rich colour. I also liked taking in chamomile covering the cliffs, pineappleweed, lady’s bedstraw, creeping thistle, yarrow, hoary plantain, scurvygrass and bird’s-foot trefoil with daisy and self-heal on the lawn outside my room and great bindweed at the hotel.

A breathtaking brief summer escape at places I love and feel so alive.

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Three stunning butterflies

My bird of the week I have been doing at work this year, sharing photos I've taken and some thoughts and facts about a particular species with colleagues, is on a summer hiatus and has made way for a butterfly of the week currently. I thought I'd also share the first three here as I have shared some of the bird ones occasionally.

Purple Emperor

Our second biggest species which is a summer jewel in the crown of British butterflies, in July and increasingly late June these regal beauties rule the oaks. They’re a species everyone wants to see and the males often feed on foul items such as rotting banana skins, fish paste or dog poo to get salts and minerals which it’s not rare to see observers carrying and depositing in strategic positions in the hope of getting a photo. For years it was one we searched for and never found but after seeing our first in 2018 it’s been an honour to see them several times since. The place that allowed us to start seeing them is the revered Knepp Wildland in Sussex. In the early 2000s it’s owners Charlie Burrell and Isabella Tree realised traditional farming had become unprofitable so they began a pioneering rewilding project; letting nature do it’s thing and allowing substitutes to natural grazing animals to roam free, namely Tamworth Pigs and Longhorn Cattle. The result was inspirational restoration allowing the creation of one of the greatest natural sites in the UK. It’s become a haven for rare Nightingales and Turtle Doves and the perfect location for White Storks and Beavers to be re-introduced. Among other butterflies it has the largest colony of Purple Emperors in the country with incredible numbers recorded. I always feel so lucky to be able to visit and leave filled with hope. Last year Purple Emperor was that one species we seem to get every year which is everywhere and as well as Knepp I loved seeing my first ever in my home county Hampshire at West Wood.

Swallowtail

The star species of our Norfolk trip to start the month, the Papilio machaon (Scientific name) is a butterfly I had dreamt of seeing from when I first got into them. It was an honour to see such a beautiful butterfly that would at be home in a tropical rainforest. The Swallowtail is our largest butterfly and to me looks more like a small bird when it flies. The British race “britannicus” is restricted to the Broads in Norfolk where it’s caterpillar food plant the milk parsley can be found but there are occasionally sightings of  the continental race “gorganus” having migrated to Southern England, which may become more common in our warning climate.

Marbled White

One of my favourites and one I love seeing as it’s one of the main signs summer has arrived for me. Seeing them sail over meadows has become a quintessential sight of light and hopeful times of year for me. Having them mark the season for me is useful as they seem to emerge earlier and earlier due to climate change as warmer spring temperatures speed up the development of their caterpillars and chrysalises. They’ve gone from emerging in late June and peaking in July to emerging in early-mid June. They’re one of the species in Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count which usually runs the last two weeks of July and the first week of August when the most species are on the wing at any time. However I saw my first of 2025 on 1st June so I wonder if they’ll even be out when the count is on in years to come. Despite this shift they’re not thought to be declining.

[madebyalicej]

My latest facts based on the illustrations I made for my sticker sheets! Sea birds are so fascinating and I had a lot of fun learning more about them. I hope you guys enjoy the facts too!!

🐟 MY SHOP 🐟

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Sky tonight, view, agrimony and wild carrot at Lakeside Country Park at lunch time and buddleia and Goldfinch in the garden today 16th June 2026 I also saw a young Goldfinch this morning and a Purple Hairstreak which I was thrilled to see at Lakeside Country Park yesterday evening. It's always a joyful and uplifting moment catching glimpses of these exquisite oak top drifters. They're one of my favourite butterflies, it's an honour to have them so close to home and there's always a sense of achievement at seeing them for me as you could so easily miss them and you just have to look for the slightest movement at the top of the oaks as you notice them starting to flutter by.

Other highlights on Lakeside walks today were Marbled White, Meadow Brown, hedge woundwort, wood dock, Long-tailed Tit, House Martins, Great Crested Grebes and Moorhen. Other highlights of recent days between Lakeside and Martin Down again on Sunday have been my first Ringlets of the year across both locations another great summer species, Comma, Red Admiral and White Admiral in perhaps one of my greatest ever few weeks for butterflies with so many beautiful and incredible species seen right in the thick of the summer weeks where so many species are about as well as Common Tern, Black-and-yellow Longhorn beetle and Marmalade hoverfly.