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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jos Stratford" data-source="post: 3437242" data-attributes="member: 12449">After a phenomenal few months, August more or less marks the end of the season, many species already in decline by the month's beginning, most others following soon after. Not all bad news however, amongst potential influxes of migrant butterflies and flights of second generations in quite a few species, there also remain a few late season specialities to search for, primarily amongst these Brown Hairstreak and three highly localized species, namely Brown Argus, Chalkhill Blue and, rarest of the lot, Tree Grayling.1 August. Military Day.Target one, Tree Grayling. In the Baltic States, this species is restricted to a single locality consisting of a few fragments of habitat in a plot of land barely three kilometres by three kilometres. All of which is within a military training area surrounded by numerous 'no entry' signs and subject to live fire exercises a dozen days or so a month! Hmm, my heart rather sank when I discovered this, open sandy slopes visible beyond the signs beckoning me in, but a military camp atop the slope certainly warding me off! I made a phone call to a Captain in the Lithuanian army to ask if it was actually possible to get in somehow if there was no active training that day. 'Sort of' was the reply, theoretically entry was not prohibited if no training was occurring in that particular zone that day, but it could be closed anyhow for any reason and I would be expected to have a reason to be there if challenged.That was good enough for me, Tree Grayling seemed a perfectly good reason I thought. Military training was scheduled for some parts of the zone that day and I had already been turned back trying to venture up a forest track a couple of kilometres form my current position, but all seemed quiet where I was. I openly admit being a tad nervous venturing past the line of 'no entry' signs - hopefully I would not get apprehended, or least hopefully I would see the Tree Grayling before the military saw me! I initially searched an excellent area right on the fringes of the zone, i.e. as far from the very visible military camp as I could. And it was super, dozens of Silver-studded Blues all over the place, six Silver-spotted Skippers, three Camberwell Beauties, one Niobe Fritillary and, moving towards the correct family, a dozen Graylings and seven Rock Graylings. No sign of Tree Grayling though! Zigzagged a number of times, Dusky Meadow Browns here and there, but search as hard as I could, not a single Tree Grayling did I find. From satellite images, I knew more open habitat lay beyond the military buildings, so I decided to try and skirt through the forest and re-enter the heathland a kilometre or so further. Half way up, I thought I was done for, a deep rumbling signified a heavy vehicle coming up a forest track, a military truck of some sort I glimpsed through the trees. Didn't see more than that because I quickly nipped out of sight, then ran pretty nifty a few hundred meters and vanished into an area hidden by bushes. I think they didn't see me, or if they did, perhaps they just didn't care. Out on the open area, I then came across a big barbed wire fence and decided it absolutely prudent not to cross that. Ambled off the other way, Swallowtail floating past, but I still did not find the desired Tree Grayling.Decided I had pushed my luck enough for the day, perhaps I was still too early in the season for Tree Grayling, I would return another day!4-5 August. Grasslands.Target two, Brown Argus. Already two weeks, I had been looking for this, traveling to numerous sites across southern and eastern Lithuania all to no avail. Tried the Ukmerge area on the 4th, cloudy skies basically thwarting my attempts, but the weather on the 5th was simply amazing, blazing sun all day and temperatures touching 30 C. Three localities on my radar this day, one to the west of Vilnius, two to the north. Loads of Common Blues at the first, eight Turquoise Blues and four Little Blues too, but perhaps predictably no Brown Argus. At the next two sites, things were even better - located not too far from each other, they were both buzzing with butterflies, some of the combined tallies including at least 80 Common Blues, an impressive 75 plus Pale Clouded Yellows, 55 Brimstones and 60 Small Heaths. Also one Swallowtail, 13 Little Blues, eight Queen of Spain Fritillaries and 14 Wall Browns.Walked a couple of hours, wading through Common Blues in search of a Brown Argus all the way. Didn't find one. Almost back at the car, one last 'female Common Blue' fluttering on the slope ...ah ha, but it wasn't one! At last, I had found my elusive target butterfly, slightly faded, one Brown Argus ...one more for the year lists, species number 99 for Lithuania, 104 for the Baltic States. BALTIC YEAR LIST104. Brown Argus (99 in Lithuania)</blockquote>

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