My parents had taken several walks there and had seen a couple of Painted Lady butterflies, which I had not seen in 2000. The morning was lovely and warm with bright sunshine, a perfect morning for looking for butterflies. Instead of driving to the site, I decided to walk along the old railway that runs past the colliery, as it is possible to get access from Leach Lane in Sutton Leach. I walked over the field at the Sidac Social Club and onto the railway embankment on the left-hand side of the field. Almost immediately my attention was grabbed by a very small butterfly. which flitted past me and landed in the grass next to the path. I presumed it was going to be a Common Blue, as there were good numbers present in the area at the time. Fortunately I decided to take another look all the same. It was very small. about 1.5 corner to corner across the wings. It was brown with just a tiny amount of blue on the wings by the body. When the butterfly closed its wings the pattern was more like Holly Blue (pale with a few small dark spots) rather than Common Blue which is more colourful. It was obviously a male Small Blue. At the time I did not realise the significance of the finding and it was only when I spoke to Ray Banks (chairman) at the St Helens Wildlife Recording Group meeting that I found out that this was the first time Small Blue has been recorded in St Helens. I continued with my walk to Sutton Manor Colliery Country Park where several Painted Ladies were seen, also Red Admiral and plenty of Common Blues. Dragonflies included several Four-spotted Chaser and a single Broad-bodied Chaser.

The Small Blue could not be found despite searching by Ray Banks the following day. It just shows the importance of reporting sightings as soon as possible no matter how insignificant it may seem, since the species that has been observed may not have been recorded in the area before, even if it is relatively common outside St Helens.

Small Blue lives in small close-knit colonies. Most colonies consist of a few tens of adults which fly and breed in the same few square metres of ground year after year. Emigration occurs only if the habitat has become unsuitable. This is the most secretive of the blues that occur in Britain. The food plant for this species is Kidney Vetch. The one seen at Sutton Leach could have been searching for a new area or it could be possible that there is a small unknown and as yet undiscovered colony somewhere in the area!