Hot hairstreaks drop to earth for a lime lolly

Chicksands Wood, Bedfordshire The butterflies were scuttling quickly on crooked legs, like crabs, between lime fixes

These are the dog days of the birdwatcher's year, the muted lull when most things of interest melt into the undergrowth to moult. Avid birders look for substitutes with wings, and often turn to butterflies. Woods such as Chicksands offer an opportunity to see one of the rarest - given binoculars, sun, stillness, a cricked neck and an ocean of luck.

Even before Dutch elm disease brought a collapse in its population, the white-letter hairstreak would not have been an easy spot.