Pearl-bordered Fritillary

After working very hard yesterday, today was a holiday, starting with an early morning walk down to the shingle ridge and chalk cliffs at Cuckmere Haven, where there were heaps of Sea-kale and lots of other plants that I don't see that often, although some will be more photogenic later in the year!

After brunch at the cafe in Seven Sisters Country Park, we drove to Abbot's Wood to hunt for Pearl-bordered Fritillary, a scarce woodland butterfly. We knew whereabouts to search, and found a very suitable looking glade occupied by two other photographers. Despite our gut feeling we didn't spot any, so went on and found another area where they'd been seen earlier in the day.

We stayed there for a while and saw a couple fly by at high speed, but no chance of any shots, so we returned to our original glade, relaxed on a log and listened to a nearby Nightingale singing. Within a few minutes a Pearl-bordered Fritillary turned up, and we then saw them every few minutes, flying swiftly past. 

But eventually one stopped to feed on a spike of Bugle flowers and was remarkably unperturbed by my presence. I enjoyed a good few minutes of quality time with it!