Coach trip to Blackmore Copse – 18 July

The day of the coach trip to Wiltshire brought beautiful weather: sunny and very warm, ideal to see butterflies. We visited Bentley Wood, Blackmore Copse and Figsbury Rings in the Salisbury Plain area. There was a strong group of 28, including one Corsican and two who had come all the way from Japan.

On arrival at the Bentley Wood car park we were confronted by an array of cameras, a somewhat perturbed warden and piles of rotting fruit. Yes, this was the territory of the elusive Purple Emperor. As there were no large groups crowding round, we realised that there were none currently present. However the abundance of beautiful Silver Washed Fritillaries as well as a Holly Blue more than made up for this lack (or at least for those who had come for the general ‘butterfly experience’). There were also plenty Ringlets, Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers and the odd Large White and Speckled Wood and a Red Admiral. The flora was also plentiful in this area, including Enchanter’s Nightshade, Common Valerian and Fleabane, and somewhat unusually, Water Mint.

Going further into the woods proved to be more successful as this was where a Purple Emperor was found hiding, along with Purple Hairstreaks, Marbled Whites and White Admirals. Unfortunately though it was a case of catching a brief glimpse of the Purple Emperor floating by, as well as a rather stiff neck, now known as ‘Emperor neck’. Again the flora was plentiful, the highlight being the tiny but vibrant Lesser Centaury.

Slowly, members of our group managed to tear themselves away from the main ‘viewing arena’ to walk along to the other end where the coach would be waiting for us. It was a very pleasant walk, out of the heat of the sun and with plenty more butterflies floating past. Along here there were also the Small, Large and Essex Skipper (the latter managing to elude Mark Farmer’s camera), Comma, Small and Green-veined White, Small Tortoiseshell and a Peacock. The valezina form of the Silver Washed Fritillary was also spotted when it conveniently landed on Digby Wood. Those who opted for the longer way round were rewarded for their efforts with the White Letter Hairstreak.

After lunch we headed into Blackmore Copse, although there didn’t seem to be so many butterflies about. The only new species here was the Brimstone. For the ‘Mothers’ in the group, there were a couple of moths: the Codlin Moth and the Small Fanfooted Wave. It was quite a surreal experience, with muffled cries drifting through the woods, mingled with the calls of two buzzards overhead. At first it was only possible to make out the words “Purple Emperor” causing a brief bubble of excitement. In reality though, the cry was “Have you found the Purple Emperor yet?” - slightly disappointing!

Figsbury Rings seemed like an ideal spot for butterflies: a large, open, sunny site covered in wild flowers. With few butterflies around though, we concluded that it was perhaps too hot for them. At this point those who hadn’t seen the Purple Emperor and felt it unlikely that they would see the Dark Green Fritillary started asking for their money back. However, the Meadow Browns and 6-spot Burnet Moths were plenteous along with a few Gatekeepers, Ringlets, Small Skippers, Marbled and Green-veined Whites and a Small Heath. The Butterfly speciality here was the Chalkhill Blue, and one Dark Green Fritillary did eventually make an appearance to a few lucky members. Some interesting flowers were seen, including Pyramidal and Frog Orchids (unfortunately past their best), the stunning Autumn Gentian, Squinancywort and Small Scabious. On the bird front, the nicest sighting was a large family of young Long-tailed Tits.

Despite only catching glimpses of the Purple Emperor and not necessarily seeing the Dark Green Fritillary, it was overall a super day and well worth going (especially for us, having recently moved down from the North East where there are considerably fewer species). Many thanks to our leader, Mark Farmer, whose enthusiasm never faded.

Corinna Philpott and Neil Gregory