Above: Clouded Yellow © David Hall
Leader: Glen Maddison
I had co-led a visit for U3A with Tom Rogers to this site a few days earlier, and it was noted then that the reserve was very dry and cracked underfoot, and so it proved again on my return with Bath Nats.
Clouded Yellow © Glen Maddison
Eight of us made our way down the slope towards the main reserve, noting that the usual proliferation of Bramble flowers had already been replaced by a huge number of ripening Blackberries! Not a good sign for our quest to look for any of the three species of Hairstreak that we had hoped to see.
With only Sneezewort, Fleabane and Ragwort, and to a smaller degree, Scabious, in flower, we knew this was going to be a difficult butterfly walk, especially as the mercury had already hit 29C!
Luckily there were good numbers of the commoner Whites, Meadow Browns and in particular, Clouded Yellows on the wing, and many of us were able to get photos of the latter. Entering the clearing, we did add Small Copper, both Holly and Common Blues and a few Gatekeepers.
Migrant Hawker © David Hall
And as we approached the boundary of the reserve, a flock of mixed Blue, Great and Long tailed Tits with a showy Treecreeper and elusive Spotted Flycatcher amongst them, added bird interest to our walk.
We decided on a fairly early lunch, and on the way back to the car park, a very brief Purple Hairstreak was seen by me, high in an Oak Tree, and our last major sighting was of a male Migrant Hawker Dragonfly hanging out of the strong sun in a Blackthorn bush.
We had lunch, then decided we’d leave early, as the heat made the afternoon unbearably hot!
A good though tough outing, with 27 species of birds seen/heard, and 10 species of butterfly noted.
Glen Maddison
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