sites
here's a list of sites and information for seeing the harder British butterflies
chequered skipper
not a hard species at all just a very long drive i have a reliable site to see these butterflies they will fly in very short periods of sunlight [well it always rains in Scotland ] go to spean bridge if coming from fort William look for the sign to the police station about half way along the village [ before the tuning to Newton more] turn right and keep to the left at every fork until u come to a bridge over the river just before the bridge there's a pulling for about 3/4 cars park there and they are right by the car in the rough boggy ground if not there they will be over the fence along the banks of the river i always go to see these at end of may / early june and have connected with them every year for the last 6 years also green hairstreak and small pearl bordered fritillary
dingy and grizzled skipper
these two ive grouped together as the site i no you will see both together neither are that hard to find in the right weather but grizzlies have a habit of flying and disappearing in mid air as if they vanish the best site i know for both is martin down in hampshire its just south of salisbury on the A354 towards blandford forum if coming from salisbury the car park is on the left park here and follow the track out of the car park into the scrubby area not the car track after about 40 yards therers a clearing here you will see both species quite easily best time is mid may around 15th also there will be small blues
lulworth skipper
the best place i have found for lulworth skipper is ballard down in dorset follow signs for swanage and and when you reach the sea front turn left and head back out ballard down is the big down on the right hand side there is ample parking in a car park beside the road park and walk through the kissing gate and turn right instantly then climb up the steep hill to just above the trees and search the grass covered banks here mid august is best time there will be hundreds of adonis and common blues and normally good numbers of wall and clouded yellow
silver spotted skipper
the best place ive found for silver spotted skipper is aston rowant nature reserve in oxfordshire from london area take the m40 towards oxford come off at junction 5 turn left and follow road towards the giant tower [if u go u will no what i mean] turn left just past it towards christmas common and just before go back over the m40 u will see a sign for the reserve park in car park and walk out heading oxford direction after a200 yards it opens up into grassland the silver spotted skippers are here theres also 100 of chalk hill and common blue best time is mid august on a nice hot sunny there will be red kites here to flying about also another place worth a visit if turvile [turn right out of carpark over m40 turn left after 2 miles its sign posted ] this is a beautiful village where goodnight mr tom and the vicar of dibley were filmed nice place for lunch
wood white
not the easiest of species to find but ive not ever missed seeing them the place i always go and ive never not seen any yet !! is botany bay west sussex [ithink] its near a place called plaistow i drive down the a3 from guildford then take the a268 to haslemere b2131 to the a283 then its signed posted off that road park by the barrier and walk the path straight a head i normally see them about 400 yards down the track best time is start of june i normally pop in for these on the way for glanville fritillary
swallowtail
there is only one site for swallowtails and its strumpshaw fen rspb there everywhere if the weathers right hotter the better but if you wanna see them settled be there early as when the temperature rises they on a mission best place is park in reserve car park then walk down the road and take the track [first left ] they can be on the sweet william in the cottage garden if not there will be plenty in the reserve i normally go end of may /beginning of june
brown hairstreak
brown hairstreaks are not the easiest of species to connect with but noar hill is pretty reliable i see lots there last year but they were all around the tree tops the year before there were females egg laying on the black thorn to get to noar hill south on m3 to junction 5 then towards farnham on the A287 as soon as u r on this road turn right to alton at alton go under the A31 on the b3006 towards selbourne and its sign posted from there its pretty easy to find just sounds complicated this is also a good site for duke of burgundy but ive never seen them there
black hairstreak
sorry been ask to with hold my site for these butterflies
white letter hairstreak
nice easy local one for me there pretty easy to see along the crooked mile [B194] towards fishers green look for the round white bungalow if coming from waltham abbey end and there will be plenty on the creeping thistle
green hairstreak
pretty easy to see species i would say the second easiest hairstreak ive seen them at the chequered skipper site at spean bridge fingeringhoe wick nature reserve in essex is good to the best site i no is the devils dyke at newmarket there plenty there take the old road into newmarket and look for the round about with a horse statue on it turn right there and follow road till you go over the railway bridge take the left turn and you will see a kinda layby about 400 yards on the right follow the path up the hill and over the rail way line and they are on the gorse bushes anywhere from here mid may seems to best time
purple hairstreak
not sure why i put this species here as they are very easy just watch the top of nearly any oak from the beginning of july and you will see them
large blue
restricted sites in somerset
small blue
ive always found martin down a good site for these just walk from main car park into scrubby area and you will normally see them around mid may time there are normally dingy and grizzled skippers too
silver studded blue
ive only ever looked for silver studded blue at one place this is the new forest around the black gutter bottom area here they are everywhere if you go to the car park called black gutter bottom and walk south you will only have to walk a matter of yards before you start seeing them there are also greyling there too
adonis blue
adonis blues are superb butterflies and along the dorset coast are pretty easy to find the place i go is ballard down its the same area described for lulworth skippers if you park in the car park area by the road and scan the hillside you will see hundreds on the wing i normally go end of august and combine a trip to noar hill with ballard down
white admiral
im luck as white admirals are quite easy for me in broxbourne woods in herts so i don't need to travel far for these at all bentley wood is a good place too i normally see a few when looking for purple emperor in mid july
purple emperor
this is my favorite butterfly ive spent hours looking for them in broxbourne woods over the last 2 years i was rewarded with a series of stunning photos this year the best place to see them in broxbourne is from west car park and walk the ride to the first bench they will be over the sallows and if you are very lucky you will get one on the ground they were early this year and were flying from the end of june but mid july seems to be best time bentley wood is a very reliable site look from the car park in the oaks and sallows
small pearl bordered fritillary
the chequered skipper site at spean bridge has small pearl bordered fritillaries but bentley wood is reliable with hundreds on the wing on good days from the car park walk back along the entrance track and enter the clearing [east clearing i think its called] its on the left as you walk back best time is end of may but if you want both pearl boardered fritillaries you will have to go mid may
pearl bordered fritillary
as above but early may mid may for both i would do two visits if you want to photograph them in mint condition and days with sun and showers are best as they will sit and pose in between sunny periods
heath fritillary
blean woods near Canterbury kent for the purists but i always go to thrift wood essex both sites there pretty easy to connect with
marsh fritillary
quite a hard one here ive seen them in bentley wood at the same clearing as the pearl bordered and ive seen them on the salisbury downs ive been given a site in dorset where there very easy a place called lyncett common but ive not been there yet
glanville fritillary
Glanville fritillary is easy on the isle of wight compton bay is a good area but unless you go as a foot passenger it is very expensive to go on the ferry a more tricky site is hordle cliff on the south coast nr millford on sea park in the small car park and walk to the beach the walk the under cliff there arnt many but with a little luck you will see one or two also be warned it is a nudist beach so you might get a funny look or two if you have your binoculars and camera !!
duke of burgundy
the best place ive found for these is noar hill same site as brown hairstreak also found them on the road between salisbury and bentley wood on the step banks which are covered in cowslips
high brown fritillary
ive only ever seen high browns at one site arnside knott they are so numerous there has never ever been any point in going anywhere else if you time it right you can see high brown scotch argus at the same time but beware not all fritillaries are high brown there are good numbers of dark green there to
dark green fritillary
dark green is quite common its quite easy to see but a bit more tricky to photograph ive found that martin down is a good site early morning is best when they can be found nectaring on brambles quite easy as i mentioned its common at arnside knott where the high browns are
silver washed fritillary
this again a really easy fritillary my favorite site is bentley wood where there can be hundreds in july look on the thistle heads around the car park and early morning is best as when the sun becomes warm they are very flighty and sometimes quite unapproachable
large heath
the best place ive found for large heath is meathop moss which is near arnside knott and you can do both in the same day park by the gate and walk through the wood on to the bog when the sun comes out they appear in there hundreds
grayling
ive found arneside knott a brilliant place for these but any coastal area has grayling especially the south coast they are tricky buggers to photograph as the blend in so well with the stones and you tend to flush them
scotch argus
scotch argus is a scotland species really but there is a big colony at arnside which i think is the most southerly in great britain this saves a long trip to scotland you can spend a day there and connect with a few good species easily
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