Narrow-bordered five-spot burnet

I was still feeling a bit delicate first thing this morning - I suspect I have one of those irritating viruses that kick in as soon as you're tired or stressed. But it was a lovely morning, so I took the dogs off to Castor Hanglands NNR for a mooch around. Castor Hanglands is one of the few sites around Peterborough where you can almost guarantee not to see another soul on a weekday, and I wasn't disappointed. Perfect solitude.

I strolled through the woods and meadows, making the most of the summer morning. The limestone grassland was adorned with butterflies - meadow browns, ringlets, large and small skippers, small copper and the dazzling jewel like burnet moths. All were busy feeding on nectar after the long night.

There were still a good numbers of birds singing, but their song now lacks the intensity of a month ago, making a more gentle background music. I was particularly pleased to hear the purr of the turtle dove, a species whose numbers have declined a lot, but which still remains quite frequent in our part of the world, And as well as the birds, there was the constant hum of bumble bees and the pulsating rhythm of green grasshoppers, which are extremely frequent here.

I reached the small area of fen, still scattered with orchids, though they're now past their peak, and was delighted to see a small brownish butterfly, with an orange band and black spots, busy nectaring on a hogweed flower. It was a black hairstreak, a very rare species confined to woods and hedges on the clay belt stretching from Oxford to Peterborough.

I knew they were present at the site in moderate numbers, but they're usually hard to see, spending a lot of time high up in trees. This was the first really good view I'd ever had of one. I'd been keeping a look out, but hadn't been optimistic, as the warm dry spring meant that they had peaked towards the start of June, almost a fortnight earlier than usual.

My specimen was a female, and had obviously been out for a while, as a large chunk was missing from her lower wing. She can be seen here. She was extremely tame. Firstly I took some images with the 300mm lens, but then changed to the 100mm macro. She was totally indifferent to me, even when I inadvertantly allowed my shadow to fall on her. We continued on our walk and she was still on the same hogweed flower some twenty minutes later when we returned along the path!

This species forms small sedentary colonies and has only survived in the area because of the very long coppice cycles associated with the ancient Royal hunting forests in this part of the country - including Rockingham, Salcey, Whittlewood, Bernwood and Wychwood. The larvae feed on blackthorn, and as long as there's a continuous good supply in a sunny situation, they're happy.