#brown argus

House Sparrow in the garden today, Great Crested Grebe and chicks, view, one of my first Marbled Whites of the year, Brown Argus and Large Skipper at Lakeside Country Park this lunch time 09/06/2026 and a Painted Lady at Hickling Broad on the Norfolk trip last Monday.

I'm elated to have seen my first Marbled Whites of the year, it was so invigorating and captivating to watch four of the around five of them I saw sail and glide over a forest of oxeye daisies in a rich bit of meadow at the side of the bowl area which has been my go to spot for butterflies this year with no less than five species seen for the first time this year there so far this spring and summer. It seemed silly that I'd been checking other areas last night and today before I got to this productive spot as it's where I saw my first Marbled White of the year last year too. I get so excited seeing any butterfly for the first time in a year especially as we get into the summer species locally at Lakeside but there's just something even more magical about the Marbled White, it's like a welcome sign for summer (interesting timing in a day where I also heard thunder later on in changeable weather), it's a strong species for me locally Lakeside is the best site I know for them I'd say and they're just so pretty in pattern and colour. As my milestone thirtieth species of the year it's the perfect species to follow last week's grand Swallowtails in Norfolk as they do remind me of each other with the pattern and it shows my excitement for seeing butterflies flowing through my year.

My area has been having some unusually powerful winds for like a week+ and I'm fairly sure this buddy's wings were torn due to that. It could still fly, and pretty good too, but poor thing was trying to get out of the door and you could see the wind pushing it back and forth.

It rested a bit on my finger, then I got it out in a close-by bush that was cutting the wind off a bit.

17/08/2024-Beautiful fuchsia in the garden and from our visit to Shipton Bellinger today stunning Wall Brown, a smashing view, upright hedge-parsley, a gorgeous Brown Hairstreak one of my first of the year it was amazing to see this exuberant species for a fourth year running here today having never seen one prior to 2021 I feel so lucky and scabious.

17th July 2023: Stockbridge Down

Photos taken in this set are of: 1 and 9. Chalkhill Blues. Another stunning butterfly that I love to see of late, they're summer's crown. I was so looking forward to looking for them this year especially with seeing of sightings the last week or two, it was amazing to see these silky gems of chalk grassland. I am always impressed by how many of these and butterflies I see at Stockbridge Down, it really is a wonderful and richly vegetated spot which is so good for insects. 2. Another special insect to see today, my first ever Forester's moth. An emerald star which I knew of and had wanted to see for ages so this was a good moment. 3. Mint moth, a charming and well coloured moth I was also hopeful of seeing today. 4-8. Beautiful colourful and panoramic views at this pretty spot. 10. Some delightful common toadflax, I enjoy seeing them and have seen a fair few lately.

17/05/2022-Brown Argus and more at Lakeside and home 

I loved hearing the young Starlings calling out the back again today, and in the gorgeous sunshine on a warm day I really enjoyed seeing the youngsters splash in the bird bath before I went for my Lakeside lunch time walk. I took the first picture in this photoset of some. What a few days I’ve had for seeing these young Starlings, I cannot get enough of them and the hope of new life they bring one of a few species really uplifting me lately. I enjoyed seeing House Sparrow in the garden today too an adult one taking bits of the buddleia bush in its beak which was interesting. 

When I went out for my lunch time Lakeside walk I was delighted to see some roses on the bush at the front of the garden that had come out I was hoping they would soon. It was lovely to see these beautiful bright pink flowers, I took the second picture in this photoset of one. With the camellia pretty much done now its like the changing of the guard with the roses the pretty pink flowers of the garden now. Talking of pretty flowers on the wild side the scarlet pimpernel has been joined by black medick or lesser trefoil which is interesting alongside the wood avens I noticed yesterday its interesting to see a few of these wild species coming in the garden.

I did my walk round the eastern meadows in warm and sunny weather looking for a particular butterfly, the Brown Argus a next target in my butterfly year and I had seen them around this time the past two years at Lakeside for the first time in the year at the area I call Marbled White meadow near the road. I deviated from my route before getting to this area and when looking over the bowl which looked quite beautiful and green once more I noticed one of the sides of it had erupted into meadow of flowers and long grass. I thought this looked a good potential area for butterflies and this species which I associate with the long grass here. And when I got over there as if by magic, flying along with a fresh Common Blue butterfly - only my second time seeing one of those this year so far and first at Lakeside this year so exciting in itself - and battling with it was a minute butterfly. I suspected Brown Argus instantly and then I saw a flash of its underwing and I knew it was then more of it and then it settled on flowers and I could clearly see it was a Brown Argus. I was elated to then watch this butterfly for several minutes getting some photos of it too including the eighth and ninth pictures in this photoset. They are such striking and intricately marked butterflies, one of my favourites which I always feel is quite a jewel in the Lakeside butterfly scene’s crown. I was so thrilled to see it and I felt I really focused on the pretty underwing compared to past sightings. The Common Blue was great to see too and it was perfect having Common Blue and Brown Argus right next to each other to appreciate how tiny the Brown Argus is which its easy to forget, its the the 5p to the Common Blue’s 10p. The Brown Argus my 19th butterfly species of the year, and it came bang in the middle of the last two year’s sightings with 2020 being 15th May and last year’s 19th May which was interesting. 

I also really enjoyed seeing my first grass vetchling of the year in this rich bit of meadow, a gorgeous purple flower which I love seeing and is a key one for Lakeside as we go into the season. I also enjoyed seeing today white clover today which the Brown Argus frequently landed on, cow parsley, oxeye daisy, lots of lovely buttercups which adorned this meadow area in the bowl, winter cress, hawksbeard type flowers, daisy, cleavers, columbine as shown in the third picture in this photoset a very lovely shiny pink flower and roses cat or dog rose I believe as shown in the fourth picture in this photoset. 

In the meadow area by the road where to make that deviation a positively fateful moment today as I didn’t see a Brown Argus there (I may have looked a bit harder had I not seen it by this point though) I enjoyed seeing my first Lakeside Blue-tailed Damselfly this year following my first of the year at Thursley Common on Saturday. I also here loved seeing two Whitethroats perching near to thick vegetation, they possibly have a nest in this vegetation maybe. A bird I don’t always see at Lakeside I did in this area a lot in 2020 but not in 2021 and this is the second time I’ve seen Whitethroats at Lakeside this year after one in the southern fenced off area. They looked so at home on this sunny and warm day. They are also a species I find so notable at our local country park so this was another special sighting today. I took the fifth, sixth and tenth pictures in this photoset of beautiful views at Lakeside today. I also took the seventh of a part of a stunning cloud formation in the bright blue sky which was so lovely to see. 

As more cloud built and the showers came on this evening there were some lovely sky scenes like the one in the tenth picture I took today in this photoset which I saw out the back and a brilliant rainbow out the front as sun came through as well tonight. Fittingly to end an interesting day of weather there was a stunning sunset tonight one of my favourites for while with nice orange then red/pink reaching up towards clouds almost and lighting them up it was a unique one to see. I hope you all had a nice day. 

22/07/2020-Starlings, House Sparrows and Lakeside walk 

I took the first picture in this photoset of these birds out the back this morning with my bridge camera. With my macro lens on my DSLR camera I walked out at lunch time to go to Lakeside where I had a walk around the meadows. I took the second and third pictures in this photoset of a view along the path at the back of the visitor centre/steam railway station. I also took the fourth picture in this photoset of another oxeye daisy I’ve photographed them so often this year but these looked so beautiful on another lovely sunny day and a very hot one again too. I went on to take the fifth and sixth pictures in this photoset of views of the area I call ‘Marbled White’ meadow to the south east of the site. 

Before and at this bit after yesterday the Gatekeeper fest continued as I saw 26 during another big butterfly count. I took another picture of one the seventh in this photoset. Large White and Meadow Brown continued to do well with 12 and 7 seen respectively, as well as 2 Small Whites and 1 Comma, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Peacock and Speckled Wood. Walking through the thick grass I also got another brilliant view of a Roe Deer close by the area I took a picture of one’s face peering out right next to me in May so this was lovely to see again. 

20/05/2020-My Wednesday walk to Lakeside and Blue Tit on the balcony 

I took the first two pictures in this photoset as I set off showing our front garden, the rose bush in full flower that its been great to observe of late and some nice hanging plants my Mum has just introduced. As I walked over Lakeside I was amazed once again how hot and sunny it is and how green and in lush growth everything looked. This week I think I’ve done a good job of capturing this with landscape photos on my walk, yesterday and Monday with two landscapes produced and I did the same again today the third and fourth pictures in this photoset that I took today. These were with my macro lens, yesterday’s with my big lens and Monday’s with my normal lens which I usually use for landscapes. So even with my specialist lens for birds and other wildlife to get a bit closer to my big lens or the insect and flower world etc. right close up with the macro I’ve managed to capture how green and pleasant Lakeside looks in this spell of sun and heat. 

I then walked over into the meadow area the bit I call ‘Marbled White meadow’ at the south of Lakeside for a little walk around. I noticed lots of lovely little nice coloured flowers as shown in the fifth picture I took in this photoset today which looked beautiful I thought. I did take a separate one which I took and posted on my Twitter Dans_Pictures earlier of just that flower but as you can see there is an insect on it in the fifth picture. This is yet another Swollen-thighed Beetle I have seen so many this spring in recent weeks. Its pretty remarkable how many I’ve seen considering I’d honestly never heard of them until two weeks ago when a kind Twitter “mutual” identified one on a daisy for me in a picture taken in this very area at Lakeside. I believe we even had one in the bush shown in the second picture yesterday as well I got a quick view of it. Its been an honour to see so many. 

It became once again as is often the case on these walks a case of seeing stars of previous visits as I took the sixth picture in this photoset of many of the big daisies in the grassland I have celebrated these lovely flowers I always love seeing this variety of so much through my photos this year too which I’m happy with. Then as the seventh and eighth pictures in this photoset show I caught up with another or maybe the same as I saw at this point on Friday Brown Argus butterfly, the seventh one on another of those lovely little flowers which was interesting. It was great to see this lovely butterfly again. I was so thrilled with the open wing photos I’d taken of the one on Friday one of my most glorious butterfly moments of 2020 so far. But the sun was in and out that day as it was most of last week so I think I was interested to see if I could take a picture with my macro lens of one in the sun hence why I ended up coming to this bit of the park on Monday too. I achieved that today but to tick another box perhaps, as I don’t ever take too many pictures of the same subject exactly over a short space of time, these were pictures taken of it with its wings mostly closed as it never truly opened them out fully when landed and I can’t recall ever producing a closed wing pictures of this butterfly species I am getting to love more and more. Who knows if I’ll take any more of this butterfly this week and beyond but for now these will compliment the still very recent (it may not seem that way with 11 or 12 pictures I’ve produced each day since in high photo yield days for me!) photos I took on Friday. 

I had just my macro lens on today in an attempt to keep the amount photos I had to process tonight down as I had my weekly phone call with my Dad tonight so I didn’t want too many to do. In the end I was a bit free flowing with the camera on the walk and did manage to process 11 from today in time. But I soon had an ounce of regret I didn’t bring my big lens in a backpack as well as when I walked back out through the secret little path going into well vegetated areas I have discovered lately I was thrilled to see a little face starring back out from dense vegetation at me. A Roe Deer, I still managed the ninth picture in this photoset of it with a macro lens it was quite far away so I am happy with it. It was a fantastic and intimate natural moment, one of those moments where you feel so at one and connected with a lovely creature. This built upon very nicely an early March morning and evening when I observed and photographed four Roe Deers in this field here a brilliant treat of a species to see at this urban country park. 

I took the tenth picture in this photoset of a nice purple flower on the way out. I had a similar sense of wishing for my big lens as for the first time ever I noticed a Blue Tit on the feeders on our front balcony as opposed to the back garden where I’d seen them before as I came back into the house. It sadly soon flew off as soon as I entered. Weirdly literally as I started to write this paragraph (I am posting this directly after writing this and not timing to go out today as I’ve taken over 10 pictures) the Blue Tit or a Blue Tit came back onto the feeder. A very interesting thing to see it after I thought of it! I rushed upstairs to get my camera and big lens and it was still there when I got back but flew just as I was about to take the photo. If it comes back before my laptop is logged off tonight and I manage a picture I will tweet it on Dans_Pictures, if I’m logged off and I get a picture it may well appear in a Tumblr post and Twitter tomorrow. But I shall be interested to see if I see it again here anyway. Another very successful day of photos and sightings overall in little patches of my day today.