Painted Lady

The forecast for the next few days, the remaining days for the Big Butterfly Count, is not good.  Showers, cloud, cooler.... all the things that mean we will be seeing fewer butterflies out and about.

I decided to head off up to Christian Fields where there is a good selection of buddleias, now wild and flourishing, to see if there was any chance of the missing red butterflies.

I was rewarded with the sight of two Red Admirals, two Large Whites, two Gatekeepers, a beautiful Comma who posed delightfully - and finally an elusive Painted Lady.

She was quite a way away, perched high up on a buddleia that wasn't close to the path - but I had the right lens and it was a definite sighting. This was my first of the year.