Small Blue

It was a relief to find Small Blue butterflies on the wing today at the nature reserve. We always seem to be about 2 weeks behind other well-known sites due to the altitude and exposure to wind, so every year I see all the emails and tweets announcing they've been seen, then worry for a fortnight! This year I was also worried that their food plant, Kidney Vetch, seems to be scarce at the reserve and we might need to adjust the grazing management. Anyway, it was a delight to watch four adults flitting about in the lovely sunshine this afternoon.