Not a bad day for our Mendip butterfly circle some cloud but also a fair bit of sun. Our journey takes us first to Ebbor Gorge near Wookey Hole. Not far from the car park at Ebbor is a wonderful short walk that takes in grassland and woodland the grassland edged with sloe and brambles which we check every time for Hairstreaks but no luck yet. We did however see our first Essex Skippers here and it's also a great area for Silver Washed Fritillaries.
From Ebbor we drive on to Priddy mineries a fantastic wild grassland, bog land and pond area full of life and great for butterflies and dragonflies. Plenty of Marbled Whites here and also Dark Green Fritillaries, Ringlets etc. We saw just one Small Tortoiseshell on the day and are concerned by the lack of this butterfly this year.
After some time spent at Priddy the final visit of the day was Draycott Sleights and we were rewarded with some great views of Chalk-hill Blues more Marbled Whites and Skippers.
19 species of butterflies seen on what we call our 'Mendip Butterfly Circle' which include Common Blue, Chalk-hill Blue, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Gatekeeper, Comma, Peacock, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Silver Washed Fritillary, Dark Green Fritillary, Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Marbled White, Large White, Green Veined White, Small Copper, Small Heath & Speckled Wood.
Peacock
Dark Green Fritillary
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