Arrival

A new arrival in the vacant lots at the edge of campus, a Common Blue. The patch list now stands at 20 species in the seven years I've been recording; not bad for the middle of a city. 

I braved the heat for a lunchtime walk and ventured into a couple of the more accessible derelict spaces (extra). Not just one, but two Common Blues was a nice surprise. I knew that small populations of Common Blue popped up now and again on such sites in and around Bradford, shifting around these liminal spaces that are created through fire or demolition, but I hadn't come across any myself before.

And not just Common Blues: Narrow-bordered 5-spot Burnet (extra); Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Large Skipper, Small White and  Small Tortoiseshell were all on the wing in the vicinity.