Wildflower Survey

Last year I registered with Plantlife to take part in their Wildflowers Count Survey. There have been a few changes this year as the Count has been incorporated into the National Plant Survey Scheme. Last year there were just 99 species to look for during the survey but the list has been extended this year and species are arranged by habitat type so I was looking for around 200 species. Luckily, I keep the same 1 km grid square as last year. The survey will help various botanical organisations learn more about where wildflowers are growing, measure the condition of the UK's wildflowers and their habitats and advise Uk and national governments on the state of the natural environment using plants as indicators.

Again this year I've elected to survey by following a Wildflowers path where you work out a 1km walk through the grid square and record the plants you see from the list of 200 within 2 metres to the side of the path you are following and make a note of the different habitats.


My 1 kilometre route starts in Brueton Park, Solihull, where the start of the work includes a lake and amenity grassland. I then follow a public footpath through woodland and alongside the River Blythe, past grassland and scrub, through more woodland and past meadows and finishing off in another section of wood. Apart from the constant drone of the nearby M42 you feel as though you are in the heart of the countryside even though its only a mile from Solihull Town Centre.


A very muddy footpath through the woods!

The River Blythe - most of the time it runs more than 2 metres from the path.

Leaving the woodland to walk past buttercup-filled meadows.

On this photo you can see how close the M42 is at this part of the walk.

Cow parsley and hawthorn line the path.

Photos of a few of the species I saw


Garlic Mustard

Cow Parsley

White Dead-nettle

Buttercup and beetle! There were two species of Buttercup along the walk - Meadow and Creeping

Wood Avens

Buttercups (again)

Wild Garlic (or Ramsons)

Red Campion

Yellow Archangel

Hawthorn

Cow Parsley and Buttercup Meadow

I spotted 33 species that were on the list and still have quite a few grasses, ferns and sedges to identify. I shall return again in 6/8 weeks time when more species should be in flower to re-survey.

A few species that aren't at the moment on the list (2014 is a transition year for the survey and more changes will be made for 2015).

Horse Chestnut

Speedwell

Dandelions

Ivy-leaved Speedwell

The first part of the walk is close to back gardens and quite a few plants are garden escapees such as this Purple Toothwort

and Fringe Cup

I didn't take my binoculars as I wanted to concentrate on flowers but there were quite a few damsel and dragonflies too far away to identify plus this Drinker Moth caterpillar

Spider of unknown species - my spider id skills are more or less non-existent!

Banded Snail

Tiny beetles on a buttercup flower

For those who enjoyed Edith Holden's "Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" and "Nature Notes" she often used to walk along this stretch of the River Blythe. One of these days when I have more time I will return to finish off the series of posts I did on the areas where she used to walk. There are still quite a few locations I haven't yet visited.



For more information on Plantlife and the survey please visit www.plantlife.org.uk




Thanks to Tony for help on Fringe Cup and Dave (via Twitter) for help with identification on plants and tree saplings not yet in flower

Butterflies at Bishop's Hill

Small Blue

Common Blue




Every year I make a New Year's Resolution to try and see more butterfly species and this year I am determined to carry this through. To do this means travelling further from home and yesterday was such a beautiful, warm, sunny day, ideal for looking butterflies that I decided to drive to a reserve in South Warwickshire that I haven't visited before.

Bishop's Hill/Bishop's Bowl at Bishop's Itchington was once a limestone quarry with associated cement works. Lime waste from the cement factory has created a limestone grassland-scrub habitat which has made it an important regional area for insect species. In fact, as we were leaving I met 2 ecologists who were just about to start surveying insects on the site.

The Yellow Land Community Nature Reserve created in 2008 as a Heritage Project has transformed one acre of the area into a village nature reserve so people can connect with nature and see wildlife (much of it rare) on their doorstep.

There were four species I was hoping to see Small Blue, Dingy and Grizzled Skipper and Green Hairstreak. Two of these species would be life ticks for me if spotted.

Many times in the past I have visited nature reserves with a target species in mind only to be disappointed when, on arrival, its like looking for a needle in a haystack. But on this occasion the reserve exceeded all my expectations.

As we entered the reserve Orange Tip and Brimstone Butterflies were flitting around and within a few metres I had already spotted my first Small Blue butterfly - a life tick for me.

Small Blue (male) - you can just make out the hint of blue scales at the base of the wings.

This was the first Small Blue we'd seen and I was really cursing the fact that I'd put the 70-300mm telephoto lens on the camera as I couldn't get the autofocus to lock onto the butterfly. Actually D, who was with me, took this photo of the male using manual focus and did a better job than I could have done.

Small Blue (female)

Hindwings with little black dots (similar) to Holly Blue and different to hindwings of Common Blue which has spots of orange as can be seen a few photos down.

Two Small Blues about to mate

Common Blue (a male) - the first I have seen this year

Hindwings of Common Blue - the photo is a bit blurred but you can see the difference when compared to Small Blue

Small Blue butterflies are rare in Warwickshire. A few years ago there were only 3 colonies in the whole of the county. Thanks to conservation measures by various organisations there are now nearly 10 colonies - all in fairly close proximity to each other.


I had clambered over the fence to walk up the slope of Bishop's Hill itself thinking it might be better for butterflies when I noticed D gesticulating wildly in my direction from the reserve. It turned out he had seen not one but three of the skipper species I was hoping to see. I scrambled hastily and in an exceedingly undignified fashion back through the fence and there it was - my first Grizzled Skipper for many years.

Even better a few yards away was a Dingy Skipper - again a species I haven't seen for a long time

D also thought he had seen a Large Skipper but we weren't able to relocate this butterfly.

Speckled Wood

Damselfly - Common Blue? to be honest my id skills where damsel and dragonflies are concerned are not exactly good. So please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

There was an amazing variety of wildflowers at the site - sorry no photos as its difficult taking flower pictures with the lens I had on the camera. In fact, I stopped taking pictures and just soaked in the wonder of so many blue butterflies in such a small area.

I didn't see Green Hairstreak but I will definitely be returning to this reserve.


I'd persuaded (bribed) D to come with me with the promise of a pub lunch so we stopped off at the Butcher's Arms in the village - great food and service and excellent value - another reason to return :)



Blue Tit update

Sadly, 4 of the Blue Tit chicks died last Friday night. It was very upsetting especially as all the chicks looked so healthy and of a similar size with plentiful food being provided on the Friday. Usually you can tell when the smaller chicks are weakening.

A poor photo of the remaining four earlier this week.

There is now a huge difference in size with one huge nestling who looks as big as the adults, two medium-sized and one tiny one who is managing to hold his own and compete for food.


The Emperor moth caterpillars have already undergone their first moult and are growing. I'll post a photo soon. Its very quiet here moth-wise at the moment although I have had several new species for the year. Photos again to follow soon.

Finally, just after we moved into the house many years ago a Whitebeam tree self-seeded in the garden and this is probably my favourite garden tree. I have never seen so many flowers as it has produced this year - there'll certainly be a good crop of berries!

Many thanks to Neil for information concerning the location of Bishop's Hill.

Fourth Birthday Today

Its hard to believe that I've been blogging for four years today - where does the time go?

I would just like to thank everyone who has visited my blog whether as a one-off visitor as a result of a google search on a particularly topic, an occasional or regular visitor. A special thank you to all those that follow me or who leave comments. Each and every comment is read and greatly appreciated.

As a matter of interest I've just checked the five most popular posts over the last four years.

1. Spring in the Garden - April 2011

2. Local Birding, Rare Victorian Pillar Box - November 2013

3. Twitching a Lifer - November 2013 - I suspect this is due to the post title!

4. Fossils Part 2: Orthoceras and Belemnites - November 2010 - no doubt due to Google Searches!!

5. Tour of the Hall December 2010



I thought to mark the fourth birthday I'd republish a few of my favourite butterfly and moth photos taken over the last 4 years


Small Tortoiseshell

Orange Tip

Speckled Wood

Red Admiral

Comma

Peacock

Brimstone

Gatekeeper or Hedge Brown

Small Copper

There are 59 species of butterfly which breed in Britain and over 2,500 moth specie have been recorded in the British Isles.

To show the diversity of moths which can be just as beautiful as butterflies I've randomly selected a few species of moth photographed over 4 years.



Treble Bar

Swallow-tailed Moth

Lime Hawk-moth

Buff Tip - what superb camouflage :)

Foxglove Pug

Swallow Prominent

Peppered Moth - often used to demonstrate natural selection in action

Elephant Hawk-moth