Valley Butterflies

The permisive path to Ashton  is proving to be the village's best site for butterflies, Orange tips, Small Tortoiseshells, Green Viened Whites, Red Admirals, Common Blues, Peacocks and Clouded Yellows were all seen in small numbers, while the sheltered slopes of old chalk quarry just north of the cricket field were thronged with Common Blues feeding on its foodplant, Bird's Foot Trefoil.

 

Best for Botony

The bridleway running steeply uphill to the Ridgeway by way of Ewelease Dairy must surely be the winner in the botany stakes at the moment. Species noted on a walk yesterday were:-

Cow Parsely, Hogweed, Meadow Buttercup, Cleavers, White Dead Nettle, Red Campion, Herb Robert, Lesser Celandine, Dandelion, Groundsel, Ground Ivy, Germander Speedwell, Herb Bennet, Nettle, Great Dock, Lords and Ladies, Burdock, Hart's Tongue Fern, Male Fern, and Soft Shield Fern.

It is rather puzzling that the three species of ferns grow in profusion, but mainly on the bank at the eastern side of the path. This bank shows signs, particularly as it nears the Ridgeway, of having once been a Celtic type stone hedge, and thus its age may be in the thousands of years rather then hundreds.  Does it take that long for ferns to establish themselves?  This path, incidently, was the Waymouth Road before the Turnpike was constructed along the valley.

Horse Chestnut in Bloom

The Horse Cheastnut outside my bedroom window has, in the last few days, come into full leaf and full bloom.

 Horse Chestnut.

The activities of the Rooks at the ten nests which were built this year are now hidden, but I suspect that most of the breeding activity is over for this year as a very young bird was flopping about in my front garden this morning. Its black bill showed it was in its first year, the grey bill of the adult rook doesn't appear untill its second year.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome Garden Visitor.

 After a gap of several years I was very pleased to see a Hedgehog yesterday evening, helping itself to fallen birdseed. When I first came to the village 45 years ago they were nightly visitors, along with regular Badgers and Foxes. On one memorable occasion I was woken in the night  by the baby-like squealing of a tightly rolled hedgehog as a badger tried to unroll it. I went down into the front garden and the badger dashed off down the village street as soon as it saw me. The unharmed hedgehog I transfered into the back garden in a bucket No picture I am afraid as it was too dark, but I will be standing by tonight complete with flashgun just in case