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On Juliet's recommendation we went to Bison Hill to look for butterflies. We saw a green hairstreek on arrival and photographed it, but the orange tips, small whites and geometrics avoided me... We had lunch at Whipsnade and enjoyed the Butterfly House. We went on to the Ragpits at Aston Clinton and the Dancers End reserve. We saw tortoishells at Whipsnade; Geometrics at the Ragpits and a brimstone at Dancers End.

Tracker of the whole journey above; Bison Hill and Whipsnade gps below

Bison Hill		Cowslip - primula veris	Cow parsley
Dandelion seed head		Green hairstreek	Geranium robertianum
Buttercup		Cow parsley	Silene dioica - red campion
Best to look where one's going	Lamium galeobdolon - yellow archangel		Cow parsley
Long view	White dead netle	White campion
Whipsnade	Lynx	Chimpanzee	Butterfly House
Crocodile alive or plastic?	Postman	Tailed jay	Tiger longwing

	Common crow	Tiger longwing
Malachite	Blue clipper	Tiger longwing	It was a relief to get outside in the comparative cold... We had lunch in the café using a tablet to order our food.
Flamingoes were very noisy - a spat occurring below	Aeration in the flamingo pool		Cardamine pratensis - lady's smock
Flamingoes were very noisy - a spat occurring below	Grevy's Zebra	Good bottoms
Horse chestnut candle	Lioness's paw	Sitatunga	Meercat on guard
Tamarisk	Vale of Aylesbury
		Weigelia cultivar	White rhino
	Speedwell		Red campion in the wolverine enclosure
Ransoms	Ornamental rhubarb	Around the chimp enclosure	Bamboo
Communication	Ceanothus	We walked back to the car which we had left by the wild boars and drove round the circuit to the exit.

Most of the orchids were not even through the ground so we were very pleased to see the twayblade - Neottia ovata or listera ovata	Neottia ovata	Viburnum seeds with snail	Primula veris
Polygala vulgaris - milkwort	Cephalanthera damasonium / longifolia- white helleborine	Sanicula europaea	Hawthorn
Bird's foot trefoil	Neottia ovata	Pea
white helleborine	We found a couple of helleborines out in the open. There was no sign under the trees in the usual place. It will be better in a week or two. There were micromoths but too frisky for the camera.	white helleborine	Exit

dancers end

	We parked in a lay by and walked up the sunken path to the reserve. There is a car park by another entrance. We saw a brimstone, but could not manage to photograph it.	Roots	Lamium galeobdolon - yellow archangel
Ground elder	Wild rose

We got home at 17.00, the cats were very anxious.

Lamium galeobdolon - yellow archangel