First Blue

In the last week I have made three visits to known butterfly sites without seeing any of the three species I was hoping to find.  Today, I visited a local beach without any expectation of butterfies but look what I found! - not one but two blues behind the dunes.  Both were males patrolling claimed territories.  Both were nectaring on birdsfoot trefoil.

This my first common blue, Polyommatus icarus, of 2025

My 'extra' for today is the same individual with its wings closed to show the underside.

The intensity of the blue depends on the angle of the light striking the wings.  That explains the dark areas on the right wings.