I THINK it is fair to say that most birdwatchers have a wider ranging interest in the natural world than just the birds.

I have friends that have been serious for years about also recording the insects that they find, and I follow a good number of contacts on the various social media platforms that do the same.

Some, like me, also have quite an interest in aviation, whether military or civil. I have spent many a great day out at air shows with birding buddies, in particular, the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford.

Three years ago, whilst I was still experiencing a long hiatus in my birdwatching, I began to discover an interest in butterflies.

This coincided with a renewed interest in photography and the equipment I had at the time and the budget I could justify was suited to more to butterflies than birds. I should really thank butterflies for getting me back into serious birdwatching.

Before moving to Worcester from South Yorkshire I had spent a couple of years recording the species I found in the gardens of the English Heritage site I managed and those in my local area and this led to a desire to see the less common species.

A visit to Slimbridge WWT Reserve a couple of years ago had introduced me to the beautiful marbled white and once back home in Doncaster I read up on the species and found it favours unimproved chalk and limestone grassland with a tall sward.

Although South Yorkshire is underlaid by magnesium limestone the only place I discovered I could find them was the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Reserve at Brockadale; a 30-minute drive up the A1.

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Imagine my joy then, a couple of weeks ago, when during an early morning walk over the former Tolladine Golf course I found it holds a good-sized colony on the south-facing slopes.

Reading up on it since this first discovery reveals that Worcestershire is quite a stronghold for the species despite our underlying bedrock being sandstone.

The marbled white is a medium-sized butterfly, similar in size to the common small tortoiseshell and is unlikely to be confused for any other British species, being a strongly marked black and white.

When on the wing this flickering contrast makes it conspicuous. Once settled on and in its medium to long grassland habitat though it can be extremely difficult to spot. Those strong markings serve to camouflage it extremely well and it is easily overlooked.

With wings open it looks like a patch of small white flowers and with wings folded it blends into the waving grass stems and the shadows thrown by them.

I have often found I have been staring right at one and only saw it when it flew off across the top of the grasses.

From above the sexes are almost identical, with the female differing by having a rusty tinge to the forewing. With wings folded the difference is more obvious with the female’s underwing markings exhibiting this rust colouring.

With a flight period of a few weeks, from mid-June with a peak in early July, it is going to be a welcome addition to my birdwatching walks, especially as July is often a quiet time when it comes to singing males and with many adults in need of a fresh set of feathers following a hectic time rearing their young they keep themselves inconspicuous as they moult.