Barnsley Warren to be precise, just North of Cirencester, a site more noted for the stands of Pasque flower but hosting a pretty good Butterfly population too! Adonis Blue are found here at one of the most Northerly outposts of their range.....
We checked out both slopes and the first hour of searching in dull conditions turned up this one lone and very sad looking individual! It might have got onto my list but I think a fresher one was called for!
Same butterfly and the underwing was not showing so much signs of wear.
As soon as the sun appeared so did one or two more Adonis! We only saw four or five individual males, they were so showy - we kept picking out the same individuals!
Here's the freshest of the day.....
That gorgeous blue upperwing......
A very brief sighting of a female (sorry about the grass - no time to compose this one).....
These last two images sum up the beauty of the Adonis Blue - as the wings tilt in sunlight, the colour changes to an electrifying iridescent shade - the camera doesn't really do it justice but hopefully you can see what I mean!
We also saw Brown Argus, Brimstone, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown and at lunch time, a move to adjacent Worcs. was on the cards for a Damselfly I'd not seen before.....
