Eifel 2015

Recently, I visited my 'old' spots in the Eifel and while I was walking around I was wondering if there was something wrong with my eyes or if there were no butterflies. In a meadow where I found last year hundred of butterflies, I now did not find one single butterfly. It felt so unreal and uncommon!

My accompanist had more luck and found a Purple-edged Copper but as it was cloudy the wings of the butterfly were closed. As I photographed this species with closed wings two weeks earlier in Belgium, I had no need to hurry......until the sun started shining. Within a minute this rigid butterfly came alive and opened his wings. Yes, it was a male with one of my favourite colour combinations: orange, red and purple. 

Purple-edged Copper - Canon 7DMKII, tripod, remote release, reflector, 180 mm, 1/60 sec, F 10, ISO200

We visited an other meadow where we fortunately found some more butterflies and thanks to the Red-Backed Shrikes, I discovered a spot of the Black Hairstreak. Since a long time I knew that the spot was somewhere nearby, but I never found them until this year. While we were observing and photographing two Red-Backed Shrikes who were flying around but returning to the same tree and/or bushes, I noticed some wild-moving brown butterflies above some bushes. Unfortunately these small butterflies were too active and sitting too high in the bushes that photographing them was a mission impossible. 
My plan to return soon to this spot vanished due to some other priorities. Meanwhile the flight of other butterfly species started and like each year it feels that I have not enough time. 

Orange, red and purple,
this is why this species is called 'Purple-edged Copper'

Purple-edged Copper - Canon 7DMKII, tripod, remote release, 180 mm, 1/85 sec, F 10, ISO200