Heal

I took the train up to Ben Rhydding and walked over the fields to the nature reserve at the former gravel pits. Sandwiched between the Wharfe and the A65, it's a small but quite diverse site, reputed for its flora as much as anything else.

It's one of the local known sites for White Letter Hairstreak butterflies which inhabit the tops of the four Wych Elms in the reserve. I found the Elms and waited patiently but none were showing themselves to me today. There were plenty of other butterflies though, despite it being a cloudy and occasionally rainy day. Second brood Green-veined White, Small White, Comma, Small Tortoiseshell and Speckled Wood were about, although the latter three only in small numbers at the moment. And there were plenty of Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Small Skipper and a few Large Skipper too.

And I watched a Kingfisher fly up the Wharfe while I munched my lunch.

For today's main image you have a Green-veined White on Self-heal, and I've popped another few in the extras: Small Skipper on Ragged Robin, Teasel waiting to bloom and Purple Loosestrife at the edge of the pond.