 |
| Small Copper © Richard Smith |
On a blustery morning, Brian led a group of 14 from the
car park in Ridgeway Lane on a walk that followed a rough "Figure of
Eight". Turning left into Poles Lane the party proceeded via Maiden Lane
and Normandy Lane to the first "stop" at Normandy to walk the
perimeter of the field where the Reserve Open Day is held. The "Club"
biscuit break was held in the lee of the sea wall looking east over Normandy
Lagoon before continuing via Maiden Dock/Eight Acre Pond, Maiden Lane and
Woodside Lane to enter the SE corner of Woodside Park and proceeding in an
anticlockwise direction. The walk effectively finished at the pond in the south
of the park. This was created comparatively recently as part of a scheme to
improve the drainage of the playing fields and is maturing nicely with a fine
display of Common Reedmace (Bulrush). A small area has also been seeded
with a mixture of native and non-native annual flowers (including Corn Marigold,
Echium, Coreopsis, Cosmos, centaurea (Cornflower), Lavatera, Linum et al.) to provide a nectar/pollen source for bees and other
insects.
Selected sightings/observations:
 |
| Bittersweet © Richard Coomber |
NORMANDY: Small
Copper, Meadow Brown, Common Blue, Small Heath, various "Whites",
Swallow, Little Egret, Canada Geese, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Cormorant, Oystercatcher,
ripening fruits on Bramble (Blackberry), Blackthorn (Sloe) and Hawthorn, White
Clover, Creeping Thistle, Common Ragwort, Royal Fern, Michaelmas Daisy,
Silverweed, Common Bird's-foot Trefoil, Honeysuckle, Bittersweet (Woody Nightshade)
and Hedge Bindweed.
 |
| Common Fleabane © Richard Coomber |
WOODSIDE: Common Blue
(M+F), Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Six-spot Burnet, Common Buzzard being mobbed
by gulls, Goldfinch, Magpie, Marble Galls on an oak tree caused by a gall wasp
(Andricus kollari), Great Willowherb,
Pendulous Sedge, Common Centaury, Common Fleabane and Common Knapweed.
Woodside Park is a fantastic asset for Lymington, being
sufficiently large to comfortably accommodate formal gardens, arboreta, playing
fields, children's playground, skateboard park and nature.