Egg laying at Grafton Wood (thanks to clearance work)

I was very impressed with the results of the shrub clearance near the old pond area. I saw 7 Brown Hairstreaks, today, all either in the old pond area or along the path to the west of the pond. Two of the females were definitely egg laying, however, in the area cleared either last year or the year before, opposite the pond. All the low flying, egg laying females were in this cleared area. I think I have been missing a lot of sightings by looking around the area of blackthorn next to the pond,...

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Early days at Grafton Wood

I read on the Grafton Wood blog that the first Brown Hairstreaks (including females) were seen on August 4th. I arrived last Sunday on a warm, sunny but windy day, feeling very hopeful of early season sightings. I walked the main rides for 3 hours, seeing a particularly strong showing of Gatekeeper, Brimstone and Silver Washed Fritillary. I was surprised that, although I saw 5 Purple Hairstreak (even on the ground), I did not see a single Brown Hairstreak in flight, at all, including around the...

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Any sightings yet

Anybody seen one of these yet. As the Purple Emperor season winds down, attention turns, hopefully, to Brown Hairstreak. I noticed on the Purple Empire that Brown Hairstreak were flying at Knepp, last week. As it is a long drive to my nearest site (Grafton Wood), I wondered whether they were out anywhere else yet. Many than...

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