Category: Butterflies

Westbury Beacon - Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID JB_7523H

Westbury Beacon

Westbury Beacon This is a small patch of grassland on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills in Somerset.  That would be good enough to warrant a visit, but what makes it even better...

Chalkhill Blue (Polyommatus coridon) - Draycott Sleights, Somerset, UK. ID IMG_0123

Chalk Hills of Draycott

It has been very windy recently which has made it difficult to photograph butterflies.  Especially those that like resting on wobbly grass.  So I headed for a relatively sheltered part of Draycott Sleights to...

Dark Green Fritillary (Speyeria aglaja) - Blackmoor, Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID JB_3081

Dark Greens at Blackmoor

Blackmoor So I came to Blackmoor to find the dark green fritillaries.  I had never seen one and was beginning to think they were a fantasy butterfly that did not really exist.  But, as...

Early summer morning at Blackmoor - Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID JB_3311H

Blackmoor

Blackmoor Blackmoor is part of the prehistoric lead mining area of the Mendip Hills in Somerset.  Like neighbouring Ubley Warren it is covered in gruffy ground – a landscape of hollows, lumps and dumps formed...

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene) - Ubley Warren, Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID JB_9894

Pearls of Ubley Warren

For a long time I have been a volunteer warden on the Mendip Hills of Somerset.  On one of the Somerset Wildlife Trusts’ interpretation boards is a photo of a dark green fritillary butterfly....

Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) - Priddy Mineries, Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID JB_92396

Priddy Butterfly Safari

It had been a while since I visited Priddy Mineries in the Mendip Hills of Somerset.  Then I mainly focused (literally) on dragonflies around the Waldegrave Pond.  So this summer I spent of couple...

Marbled White (Melanargia galathea) - Collard Hill, Nr Street, Somerset, UK. ID JB_8712

Collard Hill

Who does not love small skipper butterflies.  They have so much energy. Today was my annual visit to Collard Hill near the town called Street of Somerset.  This hill is a wonderful patch of...

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene) - Priddy Mineries, Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID JB_6631

Small Pearls of Priddy

Following your feet along this path on the Mendip Hills takes you to a magical spot for watching butterflies. I’m not quite sure why, but it has been years since I spent time photographing...

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) - Middledown, Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID BR54222

Back into Summer

Middledown is a limestone grassland nature reserve up in the middle the Mendip Hills above Cheddar Gorge.  It is managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust. Normally, I visit this reserve when it is covered...

Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) - Cooks Fields, Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID BR50048

Cooks Fields

The Cook’s Fields nature reserve overlooks the Somerset village of Westbury-sub-Mendip.  On a clear day you can see for miles across to Glastonbury Tor and the Somerset Levels. Today, after enjoying the views, I...