Green Hairstreak

leaning
with the wind
green hairstreak

The fine Bank Holiday that was promised duly arrived, and with it another bounty of butterflies.

8yo and I went for a short circuit on the moor, with the Green Hairstreaks being top of the wish list.  We set off up to Plain Side to comb the the old coal pits, which with their banks of bilberry seem to provide ideal territory. No luck there though, but plenty of Small Tortoiseshells and the occasional Peacock on the wing.  Crossing Bingley Road we headed over to Sconce, where the first Green-veined Whites of the year were patrolling the boggy ground. Finally, nearing the home stretch, a small brownish looking butterfly appeared on the track at Moorside - it skittered around for a minute before settling to perch on a blade of grass, at which point it became clear it was bright green. The elusive Green Hairstreak had found us rather than the other way around, and soon another joined us.

The image isn't as sharp as I'd like, with the swaying grass sweeping the butterfly in and out of focus. It's my first chance to blip one though, so this is the best of the bunch.

Today's Baildon Moor tally - twelve Small Tortoiseshells, five Peacocks, five Green-veined Whites and two Green Hairstreaks.

In the afternoon we headed over to the Chevin for a geocache walk - it was lovely up there but the trees are still only barely coming to leaf.