Ivinghoe Hills (2nd July)

A trip to the north of the county and over the border into Bucks with my brother turned out to be a decent trip as we connected with no fewer than 40+ Dark Green Fritillaries scouting out the Incombe Hole area.  There was almost continuous sunshine which meant the butterflies refused to land, providing little opportunity for photography.  None the less, we did see a large number of other butterflies including Marbled Whites, a rather elusive prob. Brown Argus and a Chimney Sweeper Moth.  One Fragrant Orchid spike was also still in flower.

We also heard our first Quail of the year calling from the corn field south of the footpath leading between Steps Hill and the car park at Pitstone Hill (the first time I have heard one in this field).  We did continue to their favoured spot, the field south of Pitstone Hill, where we counted a total of at least 6+ Quails all singing from the dense vegetation giving no opportunity to seeing them.  A single Hobby also flew over and Corn Buntings were scattered about the site with more Dark Green Fritillaries spilling over from the hills onto the neighbouring farmland.

 Fragrant Orchid

Corn Bunting

I decided to continue to Startop's End and Marsorth Res's whilst my brother headed for home.  There wasn't a great deal to see as the day was wearing on so all that was on offer were Great Crested Grebes, Common Terns and the 2 Oystercatchers on the jetty at Wilstone Reservoir.