Dukes & Snakes

Sunday 13/05 was forecast to be a pretty decent day of weather. I was at a loose end for the day with Em away and so after a bit of a think, I decided to head to Prestbury Hill near Cheltenham. It's a stunning location, home to a nice range of butterflies and with any luck, some Adders too. My previous visit back in 2014, will certainly live long in the memory, having encountered two dancing adders which has to go down as one of the most amazing wildlife encounters!

I arrived about 10:45am, to be greeted to the sight of a cowslip laden hillside with the town of Cheltenham laid out below. What's more the sun was out!



I began wandering down to the area I knew held numbers of the beautiful Duke of Burgundy, a species that reaches it's peak around mid-May.

Other than a load of day-flying moths, I failed to track one down. Walking back along the 'Happy Valley' part of the reserve, I bumped into the Rich, someone else looking for butterflies who kindly pointed me towards 2-3 Dukes on the slopes a short way along the path. After a few minutes, I duly connected with a couple of cracking, fresh Dukes.









Having enjoyed these for a while, Rich and I went looking for Green Hairstreaks, which were more difficult to find than we anticipated. At least 2 vocal Cuckoo were about though, as well as a lovely singing Tree Pipit.

In the other side of the reserve, the mast field, we did see one briefly, as well as two clumsy Duke of Burgundy drying out, having just emerged! We also came across a Small Blue closeby, which was an added bonus.







A Dingy Skipper showed itself and Rich then departed. I carried on looking for Green Hairstreak and eventually found 2 or 3, relatively worn ones. I carried on further up the hill to look for Adders, encountering another Duke and a very fresh Small Blue.







The Adder search proved amazingly fruitful, and within 5-10 minutes, I heard one slithering through the dead leaf litter under a large stretch of bramble. With a bit of patience, I was able to get fantastic views of it, plus another closeby. One of them almost ran over my foot at one point! My highlight of a very enjoyable day out. A brilliant reserve, well worth a visit!