Description

NEW! Join us for a summer day out in Sussex, looking for Black & White-letter Hairstreaks, plus other butterflies.

The day will begin with a short drive (20 mins) to the outskirts of Brighton, to a small local reserve. There are some of the last remaining elms at this site and at the edge of the woodland just before the park is an area of wildflowers and bramble that the White-letter Hairstreak often comes down to nectar on. We will stay here for an hour or so, depending on photographic needs and if the hairstreaks are obliging.

We will then move to a downland site for Dark Green Fritillary. There is a walk of about 30 mins to the site, and overall we will spend at least two hours on our visit. As it’s south facing the fritillaries tend to emerge early and should be some on the wing mid-July.

We will stop for lunch in Ditching or near-by, either for a pub lunch or picnic lunch. We will then continue to Ditchling Common to look for the Black Hairstreak on the blackthorn shrub. We will spend a couple of hours here before returning to Shoreham for about 4:30pm.

Although our main focus will be on butterflies and especially the hairstreaks, we will of course take time to watch and enjoy any other flora or fauna of interest throughout the day.