Quail Fail so Butterflies it is.

I've spent numerous hours standing just yards or even feet from singing Quails without ever managing to clap eyes on one. So with a ludicrously extrovert specimen wandering about in the open and posing for photos and videos in Cambridgeshire, just across the border from my native Herts, there was only one mission for Saturday morning. Myself and Sharpy arrived on site at 07.00. The omens weren't great when we were informed by a guy that had been there since 05.20 that there was no sign. There had been no mention, either positive or negative of the bird the day before but we had hoped this just meant no one had reported it. However by mid-morning and not a sniff it wasn't looking good. Maybe Thursday nights storm had pushed it to pastures new.

Skylarks were jibber-jabbering....

....and Corn Bunings were jingle-jangling.....

 

.....but nothing was requesting that it's lips be moisturised.

Defeat admitted once again with this teasing little species, we decided to cash in on the sunshine and take a stroll around Bricketswood Common near Watford to see if we could have more luck with butterflies. We did. Very impressive numbers of the gorgeous Silver Washed Fritillary and White Admiral with a nice supporting cast.

Large White

Ringlet

Marbled White

Painted Lady

Painted Lady

Marbled White

Meadow Brown

Gate Keeper

Silver Washed Fritillary

Silver Washed Fritillary

Peacock

Peacock

Comma

Green Veined White

White Admiral

White Admiral

White Admiral

Small Skipper

A smart looking Cricket with crazy long antennae was a joy to behold, (any Mantid buffs out there?an id would be appreciated. Think maybe Short Winged Conehead Nymph.)

Cricket sp (Short Winged Conehead Nymph?)

and a small pond played host to a few Azure Damsels