So many skippers...

and meadow browns, ringlets and marbled whites!

After yesterday's excitement I had a quieter day, starting with a couple of hours of quadrat recording at Woodwalton Marsh. This tiny reserve is rapidly becoming one of my favourite sites this year - I've already recorded over 100 species of plants including plenty of sulphur clover, a perennial herb found on chalky boulder clay which is restricted to East Anglia.

But today it was hard not to be distracted by the sheer number of butterflies, busy feeding on the common knapweed or pausing to rest on the reeds and rushes. This large skipper was particularly obliging, so I took a few moments away from my recording to photograph it. By 11am it was too hot to continue, so I returned home to catch up with some paperwork.