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| Wilverley Plain GP |
On a bright morning this early
July our large group (23) of enthusiastic Naturalists assembled and looked out
on the busy plain full of cattle and ponies. The grass plain has developed a
sparkling array of wild flowers since its re-seeding after the war when it had
been ploughed and cultivated for arable farming to support the war effort. We walked along the southern edge
trying to avoid the inquisitive ponies and pay attention to what was at our
feet.
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| Pied Hoverfly RS |
We found the lemon-yellow flowers of Mouse-ear Hawkweed among the richer
yellow of the other more abundant Hawkbits, Tormentil and Common
Bird’s-foot-trefoil.
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| Wild Thyme RS |
Mixed in were the purples of Selfheal, patches of Wild
Thyme and the occasional specimen of Lousewort, the lovely pink of Common
Centaury and blue of Common Milkwort, not to mention a host of other species
like stars in the sky.
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| Lesser Butterfly Orchid GP |
On reaching swathes of heather,
we found a few beautiful spikes of Lesser Butterfly Orchid, a delicate and
intricate pale flower, and were serenaded by Skylark.
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| Heath Spotted Orchid GP |
Descending from the plain we made
our way down toward a boggy area, finding many examples of Heath Spotted Orchid
along the way and the occasional delicate spike of Slender St John’s-wort.
The
most abundant heather was Ling (mostly not in flower just yet), though the rich
purple flower of Bell Heather stood out amongst it and occasional patches of
the pink and paler green of Cross-leaved Heath in the wetter areas.
We found many interesting marsh
plants including the yellow spikes of Bog Asphodel, mats of Marsh St-John’s-wort
and Bog Pimpernel. A few dancing butterflies emerged in the heather,
mostly the delicate Silver Studded Blue and the odd Small Heath.
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| Common Lizard RS |
We paused by a stream, hearing
the busy Stonechats (but not seeing) and were lucky to see a female Common Lizard
basking in the sun on a stump. Thanks to Chris for spotting.
On moving off we saw glimpses of Linnet and then a male Stonechat displaying proudly at the top of a Gorse bush.
Oblong-leaved Sundew GP
Returning through the valley Tina spotted a small group of Fallow Deer on the opposite bank headed
by an almost white male already with a fine set of antlers developing. From one
glorious sight to another on a different scale, eyes turned down for a rich
display of Sundew and the rarer Marsh Club Moss.
Another brief foray across the plain and our rather meandering walking bus returned from whence we came. A thank you to Glynis for being the “beater” at the rear!
RP
Photographs © Glynis Payne and Richard Smith
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©Crown copyright 2021 Ordnance Survey. Media 008/21 |