Spot the Grayling

Early this morning I set off with the spaniel to climb Windover Hill and drop down into Deep Dean the only place in Sussex where , if you look long and hard enough, you can still find Grayling. Grayling are a heathland species but here they cling on in a dry chalk valley. The population is precarious despite recent efforts to restore the habitat for them. Its estimated that there are fewer than 50. When I arrived I was immediately "trousered" by a male Grayling so I knew I was in the right area. In all I found 17 (including two mating pairs) in an hour or so of searching which is significantly more than I've seen in each of the previous three years. On the way back I also saw my first Silver-spotted Skipper of the year This brings my season's species count to 41 (out of the 44 species present in the county). 

The Grayling has a long history of name changes. Petiver called it the Black-eyed Marble (1699) and then the Tunbridge Grayling (1703). Other names have included the Rock Underwing (1742) which I think is rather apt, the Great Argus (1795) and the Rock-eyed Underwing (1853).