Having seen the Norfolk Hawkers at Westbere, it was a 10 minute drive to East Blean Woods to look for Heath Fritillary. There is a small car park at the Eastern end of the wood. Some people had recently seen the Heath Fritillaries around the car park. So I had a quick look. No joy, but a nice female Broad-bodied Chaser.
Heath Fritillary
Heath Fritillary
It was good to see a couple of White Admirals, albeit they weren't very cooperative for photos.
Broad-bodied Chaser: Female. Note, the broad brown bases to all wings, the lack of a dark spot half way along the leading edge of all wings & the yellow spots to the sides of the abdomen
I followed the main path from the car park & within a few hundred metres, entered a coppiced clearing. As soon as I got to the sunny part of the clearing, I saw my first Heath Fritillary. In the end, I saw at least 8, but they were all charged up given how sunny it was. I had forgotten about how small they were, appearing even smaller than a Marsh Fritillary.
White Admiral
There were a few Common Blue Damselflies in the clearing.
Common Blue Damselfly: Male
Common Blue Damselfly: Male
Common Blue Damselfly: Female
Common Blue Damselfly: Female
Having got some reasonable Heath Fritillary photos, it was time to start the journey back to Dorset.