Arriving early at the reserve, the only butterflies which seemed to be active were Black-veined Whites but that's nothing to complain about when they land on a clover right in front of you like this one did. The heart of the reserve and most important section for butterflies seemed quiet at first until I almost stepped on this rather worn Duke of Burgundy.
This is one of the flagship species of the reserve and it's the only place I've seen it yet it has a rather short flight period and is by no means easy to find so I was quite surprised to stumble across this one without even trying. I then started noticing more and more Black Hairstreaks in the bushes and must have seen at least a dozen of them.
After the dragonfly distractions, I finally made it to the fritillary meadow where I first found Pearly Heath, before eventually spotting two species of fritillaries. They were ever so flighty and only this False Heath Fritillary sat long enough for me to get pictures, but I'm fairly certain the other one was Small Pearl-bordered, another species for which this reserve is known.
