Strumpshaw Fen in June

There is a butterfly that had eluded Mick for many years the Swallowtail, so during June we watched the weather reports for what we hoped would be a good day to go up to Strumpshaw Fen a known hot spot for this species. We arrived at about 10 am to what was already a very full car park. On crossing the railway onto the reserve we asked if any had been seen, not yet, but was pointed to the small garden that has Dames Violet growing and was told this was a good spot. There were several people waiting and after some 30 minutes a Swallowtail showed up and stayed around for quite some time. What a treat to see one of the most beautiful butterflies we have in the UK.

  Also managed to get this image of a Brimstone and what looks like a hoverfly just above it.

 

Out on the reserved we found a Four Spot Chaser and when the image was processed thought it was a good idea to do something a little artistic instead of a straight record shot.