Steve Harley

Birds, butterflies, dragonflies, amphibians and reptiles.

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

Just back from a short trip to Dorset to see my first ever Lulworth Skippers in the UK. We saw lots at Bindon Hill, behind Lulworth Cove. This is a female.

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

I saw my first Clouded Yellow of the year on Friday 3-Jul at Buckler's Forest, Crowthorne. I was happy to get a few flight shots.

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

I was chuffed to find this Silver-washed Fritillary yesterday. A first for my garden.

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

@FyldeWildlife That's a great sighting considering you are in the north-west. I haven't seen one in my Surrey garden yet. Nice photo too.

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

@NijmegenBirder @BrianAl14176085 It's nice to see the Fife Bird Club class of the 90's still getting out and about. Best wishes to both of you.

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

A profusion of High Brown and Dark Green Fritillaries put on a great show this morning at the Alun Valley, Glamorgan. They were mostly zooming around, but I managed a few shots of both species. My wife and have now seen all the UK Fritillaries this year.

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

A rather handsome, and dare I say greedy, Red Squirrel - taken at @ScotWildlife Loch of the Lowes on 1-Jun-26

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

Chequered Skippers have very hairy faces! Taken last week at Shian Wood, Argyll.

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

On our way back from Scotland on Tuesday 2-Jun we stopped at two excellent @cumbriawildlife reserves. At Latterbarrow we saw our first ever Northern Brown Argus. Then at Meathop Moss several Large Heaths were flitting around and an Adder was a nice surprise on the boardwalk.

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

My wife and I had another great day in western Scotland, this time at the beautiful Ariundle NNR near Strontian. We saw 8 Chequered Skippers and added Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary to our year list. We are both retired chemists, so the Strontian signpost photo was essential.

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

@Birduder344 @IreneBoston2 @ScotWildlife They look fresh at the moment. The flight period is usually about 3-4 weeks according to the literature. So I guess they will be out until the 3rd or 4th week of June. Good luck if you try for them.

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

I saw my first ever Chequered Skipper at Shian Wood, Argyll @ScotWildlife reserve today. Then, on the walk back to our chalet in Benderloch, I saw another 14 alongside the roadside! A truly memorable day.

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

We went over the Isle of Wight for the weekend. The weather was cold and windy, but despite that we saw some good butterflies, plus 2 Red Squirrels. The highlight was seeing some "proper" Glanvilles, after accidentally seeing one of dubious origin in Wiltshire the previous week.

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

My wife and I had our best butterfly morning of the year on Saturday at White Sheet Hill near Mere in Wiltshire. Marsh Fritillary and Adonis Blue were highlights, and there were lots of Grizzled Skippers. An afternoon visit to the nearby Stourhead NT capped off a good day.

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

Teneral female Scarce Chaser near the River Blackwater, Ash, Surrey, this afternoon (2-May-26) @BDSdragonflies

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

I spent the morning in Chiddingfold Forest watching Wood Whites and listening to Nightingales - it was idyllic!

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

@RareBirdAlertUK The headline and photo are about the Large Tortoiseshell, but the article itself is about the Small Tortoiseshell. It makes no sense.

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

I had a trip planned to Lymington today. I was lucky that it coincided with the appearance of the Killdeer at Ripley. Here's some video of it having a stretch.

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

@markjleitch Great shot Mark. It was good to catch up with you this morning.

[Steve Harley @SteveHarley17]

I had some beginner's luck with the phone-scope attachment I received as a Christmas present. This Kingfisher was very nervous and watchful as a Red Kite flew over my Surrey local patch.