13 August 2026

Butterfly sighting
Report Details
A flash of orange in our Etchingham garden this afternoon and the last thing I expected to reveal itself was a Brown Hairstreak. I know they have expanded their range eastwards in recent years but I’m nonetheless surprised they have got far.

Reporter: Richard Farran
Location: Etchingham  — TQ709259

Reviewer Comments
This is a mega record! I will comment properly, tomorrow morning. PS It is now morning and so I write some further comments. I appreciate that it is not unusual for me to use hyperbole in my comments but Richard's Brown Hairstreak is truly amazing!! We have records for the Weirwood Reservoir area and also the Polegate/Hailsham area but nothing in the 25 kilometres or so from those locations to Etchingham. Jason Read sent through an I-Record map of north Kent, showing the records there. It is quite possible that this butterfly has originated from a Kentish colony. If it has come from a Sussex colony then there must surely be small colonies between the known locations (mentioned above) and Etchingham. There is a huge area of rural NE Sussex where there are very few butterfly records of any description. An awesome record (more hyperbole - I can't help myself). Martin K