Butterfly1.jpg
Butterfly2.jpg
Gatekeeper1.jpg
Gatekeeper2.jpg
Gatekeeper3.jpg
Gatekeeper.jpg
Stockley Park
Stockley Park
Stockley Park
Stockley Park
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This 2-3cm butterfly looks similar to a Small Heath with its wings closed. But is quite colourful when it opens its wings.
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Butterfly1.jpg |
Butterfly2.jpg |
Gatekeeper1.jpg |
Gatekeeper2.jpg |
Gatekeeper3.jpg |
Gatekeeper.jpg |
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9th July 2003 - Same Butterfly (Male). First pic off focus. Stockley Park |
10th July 2003 - Male Stockley Park |
10th July 2003 - Same Butterfly (Male). Stockley Park |
21st July 2003 - Female Stockley Park |
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 Gatekeeper1.jpg |
 Gatekeeper2Open.jpg |
 Gatekeeper2Closed.jpg |
 Gatekeeper.jpg |
 Gatekeeper.jpg |
 Gatekeeper.jpg |
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2nd July 2004 - Male Stockley Park |
2nd July 2004 - Same Butterfly (Male). Stockley Park |
13th July 2004 - Male Stockley Park |
15th July 2004 - Female Stockley Park |
7th July 2005 - Male Barnhill |
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 FemaleGatekeeper.jpg |
 MaleGatekeeper.jpg |
 Gatekeeper.jpg |
 Gatekeeper.jpg |
 MatingGatekeepers.jpg |
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11th July 2005 - Female Crooked Mile |
11th July 2005 - Male Crooked Mile |
4th August 2005 - Female Barnhill |
12th July 2007 - Male Horsenden Hill |
16th July 2007 - Mating Pair (Female on Left) Horsenden Hill |
 Gatekeeper.jpg |
 GatekeeperClosed.jpg |
 Gatekeeper.jpg |
 IMG_1846.jpg |
 P1070349.jpg |
 P1070350.jpg |
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21st July 2007 - Same Butterfly (Male) Barnhill |
8th July 2009 - Male Horsenden Hill |
21st July 2013 - Male Sharpenhoe Clappers |
9th July 2014 - Male Regents Park |
9th July 2014 Regents Park |
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 P1070366.jpg |
 P1170260.jpg |
 P1170337.jpg |
 P1170340.jpg |
 P1170527.jpg |
 P1170539.jpg |
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14th July 2014 Regents Park |
11th July 2015 - Male Park Wood |
16th July 2015 - Female Regents Park |
16th July 2015 - Male Regents Park |
19th July 2015 - Same Butterfly(Male) Bald Hill, Aston Rowant |
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 P1230557.jpg |
 P1250481.jpg |
 P1250537.jpg |
 P1250544.jpg |
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6th July 2016 - Male Park Wood |
31st July 2016 - Female Bald Hill, Aston Rowant |
31st July 2016 - Mating Pair (Female Left) Bald Hill, Aston Rowant |
31st July 2016 - Male Bald Hill, Aston Rowant |
Similar in size to the Meadow Brown (3-4cm). It also rests wings always closed. When flying it's wings look a bit more 'splayed' and to me the flight pattern looks somewhere between Meadow Brown and Large Skipper. It certainly is faster moving. This butterfly seems to like sandy environments such as coastal sand dunes. However Chobham Common is inland, but quite a sandy place as well as a typical Heathland too. The patterns on its wings camouflage it very well against sand and pebbles. It is rather hard to spot them unless they move.
 Grayling1.jpg |
 Grayling2a.jpg |
 Grayling2b.jpg |
 Grayling1.jpg |
 Grayling2.jpg |
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27th July 2007 Chobham Common |
27th July 2007 - Same Butterfly Chobham Common |
23rd July 2008 Chobham Common |
23rd July 2008 Chobham Common |
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 P1260069.jpg |
 P1260071.jpg |
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3rd August 2016 - Same Butterfly Findhorn Dunes |
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This is about 4-5cm in size.
 MarbledWhiteTop.jpg |
 MarbledWhiteFront.jpg |
 MarbledWhiteTop.jpg |
 MarbledWhiteUnderside.jpg |
 MarbledWhiteClosed.jpg |
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25th June 2004 - Same Butterfly. Stockley Park |
8th July 2004 - Same Butterfly (Female). Stockley Park |
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 MarbledWhite.jpg |
 MarbledWhite.jpg |
 MarbledWhite1.jpg |
 MarbledWhite2.jpg |
 Marbled1.jpg |
 Marbled2.jpg |
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18th July 2005 Bison Hill Nature Reserve |
28th June 2006 Park Wood |
27th June 2007 - Same Butterfly. Horsenden Hill |
14th July 2007 Sharpenhoe Clappers |
14th July 2007 Sharpenhoe Clappers |
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 MarbledWhite1.jpg |
 MarbledWhite2.jpg |
 MarbledWhite3.jpg |
 MarbledWhite.jpg |
 MarbledWhite.jpg |
 MarbledWhite.jpg |
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5th July 2008 Sharpenhoe Clappers |
5th July 2008 Sharpenhoe Clappers |
5th July 2008 Sharpenhoe Clappers |
10th August 2008 Aston Rowant |
23rd June 2009 Horsenden Hill |
13th July 2009 Lulworth Cove |
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 P1160550.jpg |
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 P1160678.jpg |
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30th June 2015 Sharpenhoe Clappers. |
30th June 2015 - Same Butterfly (on right in 4th picture). Sharpenhoe Clappers. |
30th June 2015 - Same Butterfly (on left in 2nd picture). Sharpenhoe Clappers. |
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11th July 2015 Park Wood |
3rd July 2016 - Female Top, Male Bottom Sharpenhoe Clappers |
3rd July 2016 - Male Sharpenhoe Clappers |
3rd July 2016 - Male Sharpenhoe Clappers |
3rd July 2016 - Same Butterflies (Female Top, Male Bottom) Sharpenhoe Clappers |
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 P1230334.jpg |
 P1230356.jpg |
 P1250508.jpg |
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3rd July 2016 - Male Sharpenhoe Clappers |
3rd July 2016 Sharpenhoe Clappers |
31st July 2016 - Female Bald Hill, Aston Rowant |
This 3-4cm butterfly at first glance looks like a large version of the Small Heath. But it's wing tops are darker. The open winged pictures demonstrate how variable the wing tops are.
 MeadowBrown.jpg |
 MeadowBrown.jpg |
 MeadowBrown.jpg |
 MeadowBrown1.jpg |
 MeadowBrown2.jpg |
 MeadowBrownsMating1.jpg |
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10th July 2003 Stockley Park |
16th June 2004 Stockley Park |
22nd June 2004 - Male. Stockley Park |
25th June 2004 - Male. Stockley Park |
25th June 2004 - Male. Stockley Park |
7th July 2004 - Mating Pair. Stockley Park |
 MeadowBrownsMating2.jpg |
 MeadowBrownClosed.jpg |
 MeadowBrownOpen.jpg |
 MeadowBrownFeeding.jpg |
 FemaleMeadowBrown.jpg |
 MeadowBrownsMating.jpg |
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7th July 2004 - Mating Pair. Stockley Park |
8th July 2004 - Same Butterfly (Female). Stockley Park |
8th July 2004 - Male. Stockley Park |
11th July 2005 - Female. Crooked Mile |
11th July 2005 - Mating Pair. Crooked Mile |
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 MeadowBrown1.jpg |
 MeadowBrown2.jpg |
 MeadowBrowns.jpg |
 MeadowBrown.jpg |
 MeadowBrowns.jpg |
 P1070197.jpg |
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17th June 2007 - Same Butterfly (Male). Glapthorn Cow Pasture |
21st July 2007 Barnhill |
21st July 2007 - Female Barnhill |
4th August 2007 - Mating Pair Bald Hill, Aston Rowant |
24th June 2014 - Male Regents Park |
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 P1070394.jpg |
 P1160148.jpg |
 P1170283.jpg |
 P1250475.jpg |
 P1260195.jpg |
 P1270306.jpg |
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15th July 2014 - Male Regents Park |
19th July 2015 Regents Park |
11th July 2015 - Female Park Wood |
31st July 2016 - Male Bald Hill, Aston Rowant |
3rd August 2016 - Female Burghead |
8th August 2016 - Female Castle Grant, Northeast of Grantown |
This species is similar in size and behaviour to the Meadow Brown. When I saw it, it tended to keep moving while the sun was shining, then settle to feed or rest in duller weather.
 Ringlet.jpg |
 Ringlet1.jpg |
 Ringlet2.jpg |
 Ringlet1.jpg |
 Ringlet2.jpg |
 Ringlet.jpg |
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11th July 2005 Crooked Mile |
18th July 2005 Sharpenhoe Clappers |
18th July 2005 Bison Hill Nature Reserve |
2nd July 2007 - Same Butterfly. Horsenden Hill |
8th July 2007 Tugley Wood |
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 RingletsMating.jpg |
 Ringlet1.jpg |
 Ringlet2.jpg |
 Ringlet1a.jpg |
 Ringlet1b.jpg |
 Ringlet.jpg |
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8th July 2007 - Mating Pair. Tugley Wood |
14th July 2007 - Same Butterfly. Sharpenhoe Clappers |
4th July 2008 - Same Butterfly. Chobham Common |
28th July 2008 Oversley Wood |
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 P1170247.jpg |
 P1170252.jpg |
 P1230228.jpg |
 P1230382.jpg |
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30th June 2015 Sharpenhoe Clappers |
11th July 2015 - Same Butterfly. Park Wood |
3rd July 2016 Sharpenhoe Clappers |
3rd July 2016 Sharpenhoe Clappers |
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 P1230559.jpg |
 P1250226.jpg |
 P1250229.jpg |
 P1250604.jpg |
 P1260698.jpg |
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6th July 2016 Park Wood |
6th July 2016 Park Wood |
24th July 2016 Biskirchen, Northwest of Frankfurt |
2nd August 2016 Shaw Hill, Southeast of Nairn |
6th August 2016 Bridge of Bantrach |
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 P1260979.jpg |
 P1260981.jpg |
 P1270319.jpg |
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7th August 2016 - Same Butterfly Lethen, Southeast of Nairn |
8th August 2016 Castle Grant, Northeast of Grantown |
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A Meadow Brown sized butterfly confined to Scotland and the Northern-most part of England. It was nice to see hundreds of this Scottish speciality in the first week of August 2016 just as they emerged, and South and Southeast of Nairn they were my most common butterfly.
 P1250610.jpg |
 P1250617.jpg |
 P1250628.jpg |
 P1250634.jpg |
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 P1250648.jpg |
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2nd August 2016 Shaw Hill, Southeast of Nairn |
2nd August 2016 - Same Butterfly Shaw Hill, Southeast of Nairn |
2nd August 2016 Shaw Hill, Southeast of Nairn |
2nd August 2016 Shaw Hill, Southeast of Nairn |
2nd August 2016 Shaw Hill, Southeast of Nairn |
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 P1250651.jpg |
 P1250652.jpg |
 P1250653.jpg |
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 P1260008.jpg |
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2nd August 2016 - Same Butterfly Shaw Hill, Southeast of Nairn |
3rd August 2016 - Same Butterfly Shaw Hill, Southeast of Nairn |
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 P1260449.jpg |
 P1260452.jpg |
 P1260490.jpg |
 P1260495.jpg |
 P1260523.jpg |
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5th August 2016 - Same Butterfly Banchor |
5th August 2016 Banchor |
5th August 2016 Banchor |
5th August 2016 Banchor |
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 P1270162.jpg |
 P1270168.jpg |
 P1270173.jpg |
 P1270261.jpg |
 P1270301.jpg |
 P1270313.jpg |
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8th August 2016 - Same Butterfly Dulsie Bridge |
8th August 2016 Dulsie Bridge |
8th August 2016 Speybridge |
8th August 2016 Castle Grant, Northeast of Grantown |
8th August 2016 Castle Grant, Northeast of Grantown |
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This is a small 2-3cm butterfly. When resting its wings are always closed.
 Butterfly1.jpg |
 SmallHeath.jpg |
 SmallHeath.jpg |
 SmallHeath1.jpg |
 SmallHeath2.jpg |
 AlbinoSmallHeath.jpg |
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5th June 2003 Stockley Park |
9th June 2003 Stockley Park |
24th May 2004 Stockley Park |
29th May 2005 - Same Butterfly. Lasham Airfield |
29th May 2005 - Albino. Lasham Airfield |
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 SmallHeath1.jpg |
 SmallHeath2.jpg |
 SmallHeath.jpg |
 SmallHeath.jpg |
 P1050494.jpg |
 P1050497.jpg |
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28th August 2005 Bicester Airfield |
28th August 2005 Bicester Airfield |
14th May 2006 Aldbury Nowers Nature Reserve |
14th July 2007 Sharpenhoe Clappers |
4th June 2014 - Same Mating Pair Fishnish, Isle of Mull |
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 P1150646.jpg |
 P1230024.jpg |
 P1260419.jpg |
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16th May 2015 Ivinghoe Beacon |
19th June 2016 Sharpenhoe Clappers |
5th August 2016 Banchor |
This 3-4cm butterfly appears to like the woodland areas, and actually camouflages into the shady spots quite well when not moving. This one appears to be the most common butterfly in the Stockley Park area. Note that the late summer to autumn butterflies generally seem to be mostly a lot darker than the spring and early summer ones.
 Butterfly2.jpg |
 Butterfly3.jpg |
 Butterfly.jpg |
 BrownYellow1.jpg |
 BrownYellow2.jpg |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
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21st August 2002 Stockley Park |
21st August 2002 Stockley Park |
11th September 2002 Stockley Park |
23rd April 2003 Stockley Park |
23rd April 2003 Stockley Park |
2nd June 2003 Stockley Park |
 SpeckledWoodEscaping.jpg |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
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25th June 2003 Stockley Park |
27th August 2003 Stockley Park |
1st September 2003 Stockley Park |
16th October 2003 Stockley Park |
25th April 2004 Barnhill |
10th May 2004 Stockley Park |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
 SpeckledWood1.jpg |
 SpeckledWood2.jpg |
 SpeckledWood1.jpg |
 SpeckledWood2.jpg |
 SpeckledWoodClosed.jpg |
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21st June 2004 Stockley Park |
13th September 2004 Gunnersbury Park |
13th September 2004 Gunnersbury Park |
15th September 2004 - Same Butterfly. Gunnersbury Park |
19th April 2005 Gunnersbury Triangle Nature Reserve |
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 SpeckledWood.jpg |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
 SpeckledWood1.jpg |
 SpeckledWood2.jpg |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
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19th April 2005 Gunnersbury Triangle Nature Reserve |
21st April 2005 Gunnersbury Park |
22nd April 2005 Gunnersbury Park |
22nd April 2005 Gunnersbury Park |
24th April 2005 Barnhill |
7th May 2006 Barnhill |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
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23rd September 2006 Barnhill |
14th April 2007 Sharpenhoe Clappers |
24th April 2007 Horsenden Hill |
26th April 2007 Horsenden Hill |
10th June 2007 Glapthorne Cow Pasture Nature Reserve |
22nd April 2008 Horsenden Hill |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
 SpeckledWood.jpg |
 IMG_1713.jpg |
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6th May 2008 Horsenden Hill |
28th April 2009 Horsenden Hill |
12th June 2009 Park Wood, Ruislip |
8th August 2009 Bernwood Meadows |
9th September 2009 Horsenden Hill |
31st July 2011 - Courting Pair Heartwood Forest, St. Albans |
 IMG_9670.jpg |
 P1020729.jpg |
 P1030017.jpg |
 P1070355.jpg |
 P1160053.jpg |
 P1160115.jpg |
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28th April 2013 Perivale Wood |
14th April 2014 Regents Canal near London Zoo |
29th April 2014 Regents Canal near London Zoo |
9th July 2014 Regents Park |
11th July 2015 Regents Park |
19th July 2015 Regents Park |
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10th September 2015 Regents Canal |
10th September 2015 Regents Park |
1st May 2016 - Same Butterfly Barnhill |
8th May 2016 Ivinghoe Beacon |
19th June 2016 Sharpenhoe Clappers |
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 P1230555.jpg |
 P1250682.jpg |
 P1260292.jpg |
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 P1260544.jpg |
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3rd July 2016 Sharpenhoe Clappers |
6th July 2016 Park Wood |
2nd August 2016 Shaw Hill, Southeast of Nairn |
5th August 2016 Lethen, Southeast of Nairn |
6th August 2016 - Same Butterfly (Right in 1st Picture) Fornighty, Southeast of Nairn |
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 P1300624.jpg |
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7th August 2016 Lethen, Southeast of Nairn |
8th August 2016 Dulsie Bridge |
9th April 2017 - Same Butterfly Old Court Recreation Ground, High Barnet |
10th April 2017 - Same Butterfly Kenton |
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23rd April 2017 Ivinghoe Beacon |
Similar in size to a Speckled Wood (~4cm), but more banded and orangey in colour. This butterfly also prefers sunnier spots. It is also much rarer. While it used to be common, it has disappeared from most inland areas in Southern England and has been confined to the coasts. The Males have extra dark bands in a similar way to Gatekeeper Males. In flight they look slightly similar to Gatekeepers. They are slightly bigger, and fly with more 'purpose' rather than the floppy flight pattern of the Gatekeeper / Meadow Brown butterflies.
 Wall1.jpg |
 Wall2.jpg |
 Wall3.jpg |
 WallBrown1.jpg |
 WallBrown2a.jpg |
 WallBrown2b.jpg |
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18th May 2007 - Same Butterfly (Male) Holme Dunes |
5th August 2007 - Male Blakeney |
5th August 2007 - Same Butterfly (Male) Blakeney |
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