Graylings On The South Downs

I don’t think we’d walked half a kilometre when I spotted my first Grayling on the path ahead of us. That was easy! Not much of a challenge after all. But, in a way, I could relax as the pressure was off. I’d at least seen one now. It was most obliging, as I got down on the ground to take a photo. It’s grey mottled colouring on the underwing was stunning with a wavy band of white – an indicator it was a male.

We continued along the track noticing the Chalk Hill Blues on the wing – my first of the year. We even found a pair mating. They were not so obliging. It was impossible for me to get a good angle to photograph them. After a while of trying, we moved on. What was really exciting for me was seeing, for the first time, two freshly emerged males near each other. The wings were still drying out as they hung downwards and I noticed how the antennae were slightly curved at the end.

There was one section of the path where we saw lots of Six-Spot Burnet Moths on the wing. Bob, my own personal tour guide, pointed out the casings from which they would have emerged. On closer inspection, I could see the remains of the black pupa sticking out from the top of the casing. I’d never noticed either before. Of course, then I was seeing them everywhere.

Once at the top of the hill, we were officially in Open Access land. We could see the Downs stretching out to the west and the clouds drifting across the sky, but still no sunshine. Everywhere the land was looking brown and dry, desperate for moisture.

We followed some tracks through the knee-high grass, heading towards the south side. From then on, it was a case of keeping the eyes peeled for more Graylings. Over 150 had been spotted a week or so earlier, so I was confident of seeing more, but the weather conditions were not ideal. Instead of spotting lots of Graylings, we did manage to flush out loads of Yellow Pearl moths (Mecyna flavalis) simply by walking past them. They’re a micro moth that’s very scarce and only found in a few locations in the South of England and South Wales. A little added bonus!

Although my main priority was finding more Graylings, I was temporarily side tracked when we came across a Chalk Hill Blue. Having seen one sitting on Bob’s hand, I was keen to try it myself. In the past, a few times, I’ve had butterflies briefly land on my body, but never on my hand. I recollected the wonderful experience I’d had earlier in the year when a bird had taken seeds from my palm in Scotland. I’m usually someone who just observes nature. My main issue or concern has always been not to do something that inadvertently might cause the creature stress, harm or change their behaviour in some way. But, reassured it would be fine, I gave it a go. Very slowly, I reached forward with my finger and offered it next to the butterfly and amazingly, it climbed on. It was as light as a feather and so exquisitely beautiful! In that moment, I think I fell in love with butterflies just that little bit more!

After that wonderful distraction, I remain focused and didn’t stop to photograph anything else for a while. We traversed down across the steep hill and then aimed to gradually zigzag our way back up. As it turned out we had company, other than the sheep in the perimeter of the field. At the top of the hill was someone we both knew, another butterfly aficionado, Neil Hulme, clearly on the same mission as us. It was just the three of us all afternoon out on the hill. I love it when it’s quiet like that! However, we did notice a few cyclists at the head of the valley, on the South Downs Way, and also a group of nudist walkers carrying backpacks!

Neil came down to chat to us for a while and then we spread out and continued our search. He’d already seen several Grayling so far, but I was yet to see my second. Thankfully, it didn’t take long! We found a female this time (no white band). Neil and Bob alternated coaxing her onto a dried chunk of poo! Apparently, these butterflies learn and once they realise you’re not going to cause them any harm, they don’t keep flying off. It took quite a few attempts before she finally posed for us beautifully.

The funny thing was, after all their effort, she flew off the poo and landed on me! Suddenly, all the lenses were pointing towards my leg! I’m not sure I’ve ever felt so popular! Even a cricket jumped on me! The Grayling landing wasn’t even a fleeting moment. She lingered for ages. At first, she was positioned horizontally so I could see her underwings clearly. Then turned to look right up at me. Fabulous! My only difficulty was getting a clear view. We’d just had a very brief spell of light rain and I was wearing my waterproof jacket. It kept getting in the way, despite attempts to pull it back. In the end, Bob stood behind me and pulled it taut, whilst I took some photos. I knew he’d come in handy!!!

The Graylings, like many creatures, really are a master of disguise. They love bare patches of ground, like chalky clearings. The pattern on their underwing blends in so well to their environment, it’s amazing how you can struggle to see them, even when you know one is right in front of you.

When it comes to using props, I preferred the use of something more natural, like a small stick. It certainly worked just as well for us. Most of the time, when at rest, the Grayling would keep its wings closed so you only saw the hindwing. But sometimes, they’d quickly flick up their forewing a fraction and reveal the white dot inside the black spot.

Eventually, the sun made an appearance, which was about the time we were lucky enough to see a Grayling nectaring on the flower of some brambles. Usually, it was on the ground hiding. It was one of the few times I actually saw its proboscis too.

Whilst the sun hid behind the clouds intermittently and it was still a little windy, the afternoon did stay fairly sunny and there was noticeably more activity. All the butterflies on the hill became more active. Aside from Grayling, I saw a Red Admiral fly-by, a Brimstone in the distance, a Dark-Green Fritillary hovering just above the tall grasses, one solitary Marbled White and a few Gatekeepers and Common Blues. However, there were plenty of Meadow Browns and Chalk Hill Blues. The real treat was seeing some Silver-Spotted Skippers. It was only my second time of seeing this small species.

Having bagged LOTS of Grayling photos, I enjoyed focusing on some of the other insect species for a while too. There was an abundance of Six-Spot Burnet Moths. I often found more than one nectaring on the same flower.

I was very happy to get a shot of one flying. I’d been focusing on it resting on the flower when it suddenly flapped its wings and took off. I know the photo would have been better if the moth had been facing me, but I wasn’t prepared to spend ages trying to get that image! Sometimes, it’s more important to just enjoy the moment.

It did inspire me to try and get a photo of the Grayling in flight. You don’t get to appreciate the pattern of the upperwing when it’s at rest. The only problem is, they’re incredibly quick. I thought the best bet would be to use the slow motion video feature on my phone. But, when I watched some of them back, one second the butterfly was in view and the next it was gone, even in slow motion! I was lucky if I got one blurry frame with its wings open. There was no chance of getting a sharp image. This one was the best I could capture from the video.

I did try taking a burst of shots with my camera using a fast shutter speed, knowing I wouldn’t be able to focus on the butterfly itself. I managed a few half decent efforts and at least could see how pretty its wings were.

The upperwings are brown with cream and orange patches. The males are not quite as vibrant as the females. Certainly the ones I saw. Because the veins of the wings run through the lighter colour, I think the pattern resembles flowers. There's also a white dot inside a brown spot, at the centre of each creamy patch.

The highlight of the afternoon was definitely seeing the courtship behaviour of two Graylings. Of course, this didn’t happen out in the open where it was easy to see, but nestled in amongst the grass. The male circle around the female, facing her and there was a lot of rapid wing movement from both of them. It was a bit of a frenzy to be honest! I don’t know about them, but I was getting all excited thinking I might actually get to see a pair mating. But, the lack of interest from the female was enough to put the male off and he flew away eventually. He actually landed on my shoe for a bit before moving on.

When we were tired and had had our fill of Grayling activity, we headed back down the hill. There were just a few more treats waiting for us on our descent. There was a lovely spot where we were shielded from the wind and felt the heat of the late afternoon sun. I was particularly pleased to finally get a close view of a Dark-Green Fritillary, which was resting on a Round-Headed Rampion – honest, it’s under there!

In comparison, here’s the much smaller Chalk Hill Blue nectaring on a Rounded-Headed Rampion – The Pride of Sussex – our county flower.

We also spotted a handful of mating Chalk Hill Blues on the tall grasses high up on the bank. They appeared to be in a more pleasing position (photographically speaking) than the pair I’d seen earlier in the day. So, carefully we climbed up to them trying not to trample on too much. The warm light was so lovely. It was worth the effort, even if I did nearly fall down the steep embankment at one point.

We even saw another Grayling on the path before we left. It had been a fabulous day. I was very grateful to Bob for sharing some of his knowledge with me and for having such eagle eyes. He was a great spotter and unofficial tour guide!

In a way, it was a day of celebration, because I’d finally seen butterfly species number 43 for me, within the county. When I’d watched that webinar back in 2021, they stated there were only 43 species of butterfly that live their complete life cycle in Sussex. So, based on that, I can celebrate! Yay! I’m very happy to have achieved such a milestone and to have seen so many different beautiful butterflies. I never set out on a quest to see them all. It wasn’t about ticking species off a list. For me, it was a chance to get to know my home county better and appreciate all the wonderful things on my doorstep. That journey isn’t over, it’s only just beginning.

For now, I’ll not worry about the possibility that a new species is likely to be added to this list. Some Large Tortoiseshells have been found on the Knepp Estate this summer, with evidence they’ve emerged rather than being released. This seems like it should be exciting news. But, my response is measured because of the extremely worrying news that this year half of the UK butterfly species are now on the Red List and threatened with extinction. The Dark Green Fritillary is one of the newest additions.

The problem is bigger than declining numbers of butterflies. We’re experiencing massive declines in insect populations. Since they’re low down the food chain, the implications of this are huge and will have serious consequences for everything above them in the food chain – including us.