#30 Days Purple
Tuesday 26th. Arrived opposite the glider club from Norfolk at 7am and waited for John Wiltshire to arrive from Herts. Very cool and misty. First impressions of the clearance work, not pretty, but long term I'm sure it will heal. John arrived and we headed off for Lady wood. It was about 10.30 when the mist lifted, it was like flicking a switch going from cool to hot with no warm up period. HIM appeared but was on a catch up mission, very few landing for more than a few seconds. We wandered the sun baked rides, almost giving up on getting any images. However at about 1.30pm the heat must have got to them and several males came down and were very docile, sitting in the partial shade, desperately trying to extract anything from the arid track.
While I was trying to tease a shot out of a lethargic Iris John exclaimed " Goodness what have we here!" (not the exact phrase, ladies might be reading) I looked up to see an image of purple and black take off, glide down the track ten yards, go to settle, then get involved in a melee with two Ringlets. We watched in horror as this mirage circled then disappeared into the wood. Had we witnessed the holy grail? ab iole? We saw no sign of white, but without an image we will never be 100% sure. A few seconds more John would have that image. I left at 3.30pm having seen about twelve individuals, John was disconsolate.
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7 comments:
Hello Brian, will be at Fermyn tomorrow, (Thursday) From Norfolk (Downham Market) Would love to see Iole - was it on the Ladywood ride by the intersection please?
Thanks, Bill S
You know how I feel now after my Monday experience at Bentley Wood.
Hi Bill, if you take the left hand track in Lady Wood go past the elm on your left (which has WLH) and around the right hand bend, it was about 50yds down here we had the sighting. Good hunting, please be lucky.
Yes Mike, in one way it's sad not to get an image, a lasting memory, but it was wonderful to see.
Yes as you say, we have both witnessed the Holy Grail, to many the ultimate aberration! As I was watching it I was thinking of Matthew Oates finding his dark aberration in Straits Inclosure. He left a little memorial message on the stone it was basking on which remained there over previous visits I made. A deserved tribute!
Simon Grove and I saw a probably 'blackie' late in the day at Knepp yesterday, high up, but it claimed a pressing engagement elsewhere.
They should var like mad this year....
Lovely shots of a very special butterfly. I hope I will be lucky enough to see one some day.
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