Cumbria Revisited

Earlier in the year, Bob and I had a wonderful holiday up in Scotland, focusing mostly on the Isle of Mull. I've written several blog posts about this trip, which you can read by clicking on this link. However, at the start and the end of our time up north, we went looking for new butterfly species for me - ones we don't see in the south of England. I'm currently in the process of trying to see all UK butterfly species.

During our last few days of that holiday, we were in Cumbria searching for the Large Heath, Northern Brown Argus and the Mountain Ringlet. It was too early for the High Brown Fritillary following the cool damp spring, however, there was a chance of seeing some in early August, albeit potentially very tatty and right at the end of their flight season. We'd already started mulling over the idea of returning to Cumbria at that time of year to see another butterfly species new to me, the Scotch Argus. The opportunity to see both species was too tempting to pass by. So, we returned to Cumbria on 6th August, but this time just for two days. It was all we could fit in to our schedule.

Since we had limited time, and the weather was looking quite favourable on the Tuesday, we set off super early and reached our first location by late morning - Holme Stinted Pastures. This is where Bob had seen the High Brown Fritillary before. These mating Common Darters (above) were amongst the first things we saw upon our arrival. We walked around for a couple of hours and had a bite to eat, but we really only started to see butterflies on the wing in the latter stages, when it was warmer and sunnier. Sadly, though, we didn't have any luck with the High Brown Fritillary.

We were close to leaving when we met up with Mark and a friend of his. He was the butterfly enthusiast we met last time we were in Cumbria. It wasn't a coincidence, we knew they would be on the same search as us. We stopped to chat for a while, however, we wanted to make the most of the day. It really looked like the weather on the Wednesday would not be great for butterflies. So, spurred on, we left them to wander around and moved on to the next site, White Scar. It was just 15 minutes drive away, on the other side of the M6.

We knew there had been recent sightings of the High Brown Fritillary at this location, so we were more hopeful of success. It wasn't a site we'd been to before, but it was a stone's throw away from Latterbarrow, which we visited on our first trip to Cumbria, and where we'd met Mark. We found the car park easily and followed the track, wondering how far we might have to walk to see our first High Brown Fritillary. Only minutes later we had our answer when we reached a small clearing. Up on a ledge of the quarry, maybe 10m above us, were three men standing with cameras in hand, pointing them down towards an orange butterfly perched on a Buddleia tree. A quick look through the bins confirmed it was the one we were hoping to see and we rushed up to join them.

It was a fabulous little spot with lots of butterflies nectaring on the Buddleia all around us, including Large White. Although that first High Brown Fritillary flew off pretty quickly, it didn't take long before we spotted more, first on the ground and then nectaring again. We think we must have seen either two or three different individuals and they were all in pretty good condition, considering how late it was in the flight season. I was really happy. It was fabulous to clearly see the concave curve of the forewings, one of the distinguishing features of this species. It's easy to mix them up with the Dark Green Fritillary that has a convex curve on their forewings. Since they were also in the vicinity, it was confusing at times figuring out which species we were looking at.

After 30 minutes of being at White Scar, we felt really happy that we'd achieved our goal of seeing this species and had some nice photos too. It was early in the afternoon by this stage. We could have stayed there for quite a lot longer and enjoyed photographing all the species we were seeing. But, knowing the weather was looking so poor for the following day, I wondered if we should go on to Smardale Gill instead of staying put. It was a 45 minute drive north. It might have been our only good chance to find the Scotch Argus, which we were both so keen on seeing. I was a little torn, because it felt like we were moving on too quickly from White Scar. I didn't want to just tick the butterfly off the list and move on to the next species. I felt like I was on an episode of Challenge Aneka! Usually, I like to enjoy the experience, and not to rush, thereby making the most of seeing the butterflies. But, on this occasion, the experience was about making the most of the day.

Bob was pretty much of the same opinion as me and just as eager to see the Scotch Argus. He'd only ever seen this species once before himself. So, after a little discussion and deliberation, we headed off to Smardale Gill. We messaged Mark that we were already moving on and maybe we'd see them later.

Neither of us were familiar with this site, but we'd done some research to help us locate the species, including a grid reference from a recent sighting. Upon arrival at the car park, we also bumped into a friendly couple who stopped to give us more instructions on where to go, assuring us they'd just seen some. So, we set off feeling optimistic. Having said that, it was noticeably more breezy by then and quite chilly when the sun was behind the clouds. What we hadn't realised was how long the walk would be either. We followed the path - an old disused railway - for about an hour without the sight of any fluttering wings, let alone a Scotch Argus. But then, all of a sudden, Bob spotted one with its unmistakable dark brown wings. Yay! Success! In fact, soon after our first sighting, we kept seeing more. We ended up disturbing some as we walked along the path. This one posed beautifully on the fern.

Eventually, we reached an area that was a little more open on one side of the bank. We waited there a while as we could see the sun would shortly break free of the clouds and shine down on this spot. When it did, it was as if a switch had been flicked on, because suddenly over a dozen Scotch Argus took to the wing having been hidden from us beforehand. They flew just above the height of the flowers across the small patch right in front of us. It was beautiful to witness and for a few brief seconds I was mesmerised. Periodically, they would settle on leaves or flowers, so I was thrilled to get a few photos of one nectaring.

As soon as the sun disappeared, they all suddenly dropped down low in amongst the vegetation, making it tricky to see them let alone photograph them. Thankfully, the sun reappeared a short while after, and so the cycle began again.

The next time the sun disappeared again, we decided to continue along the path further. It was lovely to see some orchids including Broad-leaved Helleborines and this rather large Marsh Fragrant Orchid (below). We walked as far as the Viadact, and saw a few more Scotch Argus on the other side of the stile, but decided this was far enough. So turning back, we retraced our steps to the open area of the bank, which once more was in the sunshine. We loitered there for a while, enjoying the late afternoon light and seeing so many of our target species.

I rather liked this female with her wings closed. She stayed there for several minutes. She looked very fresh.

A little while later, Mark turned up with his friend. They'd also had success with the High Brown Fritillary at White Scar, which was good to hear. The advantage they had was they could end their day at Smardale Gill as they were staying nearby. They didn't have a long drive back to Kendal, like we did. So, after chatting for a while, discussing the success of the day, we left them to enjoy the butterflies and we started to make our way back to the car.

There was one more little treat for us on the way back. This gorgeous male landed in a lovely open wing position on a leaf right by the path, posing beautifully. We were both really happy to have one more final view and get a good photo. It was the perfect end to our very long day! We were shattered by the time we reached our hotel, but extremely satisfied with our success and glad we'd pressed on from White Scar when we had the chance.

The weather the following day was just as poor as predicted, with quite a bit of rain, strong winds and only the occasional moments of sunshine. Not a good day for butterflies. But, naturally, we didn't spend the whole day indoors. We decided to head back to White Scar and see what we could find. Amazingly, the day was not a washout. We had some really interesting and surprising sightings.

First, I spotted this old skin casing of either a cricket or grasshopper. I've never seen one before, so that was intriguing.

Then Bob managed to disturb a small Black Darter dragonfly as we were walking around. It didn't fly far away and we were able to get several photos of this little creature, in the rain. I was really pleased as I've never seen this species of dragonfly before.

I enjoyed photographing it, even though the conditions were less than ideal. I love these close ups of its eyes.

It was a very enjoyable way to pass the time, all the while waiting for some better weather and at least a dry spell.

Thankfully, the rain did eventually cease. On the previous day we'd had some brief sightings of Graylings. But, since we were more focused on the High Brown Fritillary, I hadn't taken a huge amount of notice of them. It was a lovely bonus to be able to make up for it on this second day. I found quite a few hiding on the rocks and ground and really enjoyed taking some photos. Although, it's a species I've seen before in East Sussex, there is only the one colony. The pattern on the underwing is amazing and it blends in so well to its surroundings. It's one of those things that can hide in plain sight!

This one clinging on to the rock wall was in quite a precarious place and tricky to photograph, but I managed to scramble up to a small ledge to get the photos I wanted. It wasn't surprising it was also seen nectaring on the Buddleia, as that was about the only flower around.

I took a break from photographing the Grayling when Bob called over to me. He'd found a Dark Green Fritillary in great condition. At first, it was hiding in the grasses, but then it flew up onto the Buddleia, but not a very pretty flowering one. Sadly, the light was still very poor and it started to rain again. I was surprised it stayed put and didn't take shelter in a better spot.

In fact, it went to sleep in this spot. It was still there about an hour later when another butterfly enthusiast turned up. If you look closely you can see a few tiny drops of rain on it's head and antennae.

With more time on our hands, we decided to head to Arnside Knott at lunchtime. There was a chance the weather would improve, well at least stop raining. The wind was still less than ideal. There had been reports of Brown Hairstreaks being seen at this site the day before, plus, it was a known site for Scotch Argus. So, we set off slowly up hill, with fairly low expectations.

Near the top, we bumped into two butterfly enthusiasts who, like us, had little joy seeing anything of note on their walk. They had even been to Smardale Gill that morning and not seen any Scotch Argus. Whilst I was sorry for them, I was extremely glad we'd changed our plans at the last minute the day before. We all hung around the top near all the Hemp Agrimony, hoping to see some butterfly action. When the sun did make an appearance, we did at least get a sighting of a Common Blue, a Painted Lady and a Red Admiral. Bob and I remained there for quite some time, but the other two decided to head down the hill. I think they were a little dejected about their day. Before they left, I told them about a spot just below where we were that they might want to check out as a possible place for the Scotch Argus. I gave them the grid reference and off they went.

We stayed up the top a while longer, but eventually decided to check out this grid reference ourselves. We bumped into the two men again, just near the area, but they'd not ventured past the vegetation and trees to get into the clearing. It turned out they'd lost the grid reference and were unsure of where to go. I encouraged them to follow me and lead the way into the clearing. The access wasn't very obvious and not on a path. We looked around, noticing a distinct lack of flowers and then I spotted some Hemp Agrimony partially obscured behind some bushes. We all headed over in that direction. Suddenly, Bob spotted a Brown Hairstreak and immediately called out to the men to stop. One of them was about to disturb it without realising! Well, you can imagine how thrilled we were, and surprised!

It even opened its wings partially! Then, Bob spotted a second Brown Hairstreak. We were spoilt for choice! I took a few photos of both, but then they flew off. I didn't see where the second one flew off to, but the first one flew up into a nearby tree. The two men left, now feeling a bit happier. But we remained there to enjoy our lunch in the quiet sheltered spot. The Brown Hairstreak didn't budge the whole time we had our lunch, which was a shame. However, I was grateful we'd even seen them at all.

Not much else happened that day, so we returned to the hotel to relax. After such a long tiring day before, we were glad of a bit more downtime in the evening. The follow day, the weather was even worse than the day before. There was no point in staying any longer than necessary, so we drove home after eating a hearty breakfast.

It might have been a short visit north, but it had been worthwhile. I was so pleased that we saw both the High Brown Fritillary and the Scotch Argus. That leaves me with just three more new butterfly species to find and then I'll have seen all the UK species. They are the Heath Fritillary, Glanville Fritillary and the Swallowtail. I can't wait to search for them, but of course I have to wait until next May, when the fun with the butterflies will kick off again.