Butterfly Photoshoot – 21 June 2026

As we have learned in recent years, the Fox Hill butterflies visit earlier than the annual official Butterfly Count. Pollinators love our woodland edge plants, such as the huge length of bramble that lines the Dorset Way entrance.

This is where I saw a Mr and Mrs Meadow Brown flirting and eventually mating.

Sometimes butterflies were happy to pose for a close up photo, like this Red Admiral.

Others, like this Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia), were much more difficult to capture. I stayed in the sun as long as I could while the pair flitted up and down the bracken along the pilon line, but I couldn’t get an open wing shot.

Inside the woods, where there are gaps in the canopy, I saw a few Small White, Speckled Wood, along with more Red Admirals and Meadow Browns.

The 2026 Big Butterfly Count takes place from next Friday, 17 July to Sunday, 9 August 2026. For more details on how to contribute, visit Big Butterfly Count 2026.