Today at Knepp...

 Iris is still going quite nicely here at Knepp, where it started on June 27th. Paul Fosterjohn and I counted 18 (including 1 female) on one of the two PE transects set up last year. That's as good as last week's count, though way down on last year's peak count.

However, it's now very much an afternoon and evening butterfly, inactive during the mornings. Today, none was seen until 12.10pm. They were then active until a little after 3pm, when they quietened down until after 5.30 when they kicked off again, finishing around 8pm. As the season advances they become more and more localised. 

The competition for Middle Aged Thug of the Year 2016 is hotting up nicely. Here's a photo of a Spotted Flycatcher before encountering a middle aged thug -

And here's the same bird after full evisceration -

Also today, a trio of Goldfinch was shot down in flames, two males blew up a Carrion Crow, and a posse of courting and squabbling Red Admirals was exterminated without mercy.  

Meanwhile, here's a preview of the 2017 Purple Emperor season - this egg will hatch on Monday -