Green Hairstreak, Callophrys Rubi The east wind was strong and boisterous, so I dipped down to a sunlit bank and sat listening to the bleating of lambs and a willow warbler. A sudden loud gust set the birch trees dancing. In a flutter of sunlit green a small butterfly vanished amongst blue moor grass, a clump of violets, a trail of bramble where I found a leaf of a distinctive hue. A green hairstreak butterfly. The sunlit bank was sheltered from the wild wind on Scout Scar and green haristreak returned again and again, to disappear amongst the grasses. Once glimpsed, that flush of colours and sheen on the wing draws the eye and the green hairstreak cannot hide.
The last time I saw green haristreak was in Park End Wood, Brigsteer. The butterfly flew over Herb Paris, showing me the flower I was seeking. Today, this green hairstreak came again and again to my sunny bank and settled amongst the grasses.
When the wonders of spring take hold the wider world melts away. And the joy of such an interlude, of here and now, is heartfelt. After all, none of us can make plans in spring 2020. We can neither visit friends nor welcome them to our homes. We are confined to our own neighbourhood so it is rewarding to rediscover its riches and to find delight in each advance of spring.
When the wonders of spring take hold the wider world melts away. And the joy of such an interlude, of here and now, is heartfelt. After all, none of us can make plans in spring 2020. We can neither visit friends nor welcome them to our homes. We are confined to our own neighbourhood so it is rewarding to rediscover its riches and to find delight in each advance of spring.
Catkins and tree flowers often precede the unfurling of leaf buds. They're beautiful and it's the best time to see spring migrants, before a tree is fully in leaf. There are subtleties of synchronicity. Pollen and nectar in tree flowers attracts the insects which breeding birds rely on to feed their young. In a spring as warm and dry as 2020 what will dates synchronise? For butterflies too, will the availability of their food plants coincide with the hatching of a brood?
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