I was up at 4am this morning to see a small colony of Marsh Helleborines on the outskirts of Basingstoke (a permit-only site). Found them with ease, although I only counted 16 spikes; despite such a small site it was great to see so many orchids, with the majority being Southern Marsh Orchids.
After more sleep, I ventured over to Straits Enclosure (near, or part of the Alice Holt complex) and walked the single track through the wood. Some funny smells down the track led me to scattered shrimp paste that had been deposited by others prior to my arrival. Thankfully for me, a male Purple Emperor glided down and onto the track, soon walking onto the deposit. It stayed 'feeding' for around ten minutes, but when the depositors arrived, I left them to it having had my photographic time with it.
Further sightings included a family of Spotted Flycatchers, many White Admirals and Silver-washed Fritillaries, and a single Purple Hairstreak. A great morning and I was back indoors by 10.30am.
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| Purple Emperor |
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| Marsh Helleborine |
