A visit to this lovely site in Surrey on a bright sunny day was full of promise.
My research had revealed this was a good butterfly site and as I walked across the Down this was to be confirmed with a good variety of butterflies present – Comma, Common Blue, Large and Small White, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper and Brimstone were all present in good numbers.
On one field there were a number of Chalkhill Blues
Smaller numbers of Holly Blue, Small Copper and Small Heath butterflies were also seen.
At the end of my walk I visited a small pond which has been created on the Down.
5 species of Dragonfly were present: Emperor Dragonfly, Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies and Common Darter, but the highlight was a Willow Emerald Damselfly, which perched briefly on a reed. Whilst I was watching the pond, my attention was drawn to a very small butterfly in the surrounding vegetation which turned out to be a Small Blue.
Nearby I saw a another small dark butterfly – a Grizzled Skipper
In all I recorded 14 species of Butterfly and 5 species of Dragonfly plus a few other insects. A good walk which I will be keen to repeat again.
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