Well, I say Holiday...
...what I actually mean is: I had some time off work (always a plus) and we decided to make the most of it by going out for a few day trips to some different locations nearby.
As usual, the locations are small Nature Reserves, usually out of the way (down pokey little roads) and generally ignored by most people. This means that they are generally nice and quiet, and gives us an opportunity to take our time and explore the habitat and see what we can see.
The weather forecast for the whole week was sunshine and rain showers, so we put on our coats, and crossed our fingers...
Digby Corner
This tiny little reserve is a small trinagle shaped wedge of scrub habitat. It is quite close to the main road on the outskirts of a small village, and yet if you take just a few steps...
...you are transported to another world! Behind the hedge on the right is the village, and along the back edge is a railway line, and yet standing here you wouldn't have a clue!
We heaed on down the path to see what what we could find
Hawthorn flowers - Crataegus monogyna
The shruby hedges on oneside mostly consisted of Hawthorn, and early flowering Shrub and loved by many species of insects
Cowslip - Primula veris
I was surprised to see this clump of Cowslips wedged under one of the bushes, usually they are more common in open meadows
In the small patches of sunshine I saw the first Butterfly of the day, this is a Speckled Wood, an attractively marked mottled brown colour, although this one refused to pose with his wings open (so you'll just have to take my word for it!)
Next we saw a Dock Bug, resting in the sun...
Hoverfly - Leucozona lucorum
and then an interesting looking fly in the shade (remember, flies are cool too!)
This is Leucozona lucorum, a type of hoverfly and relatively widespread across the UK.
As previously mentioned, the reserve was tiny, and so after 100m or so the small path entered a small clearing. The was a patch of grass the size of a tennis court, and it was surrounded by shrubby hedges (such as Hawthorn and Buckthorn etc)
Here we found some more flies:
Bibio species - male (note small body size and large eyes)
Bibio species - female (note large body size and surprisongly small head)
Another Hoverfly - ID unknown
And to end the morning on a high, we saw 3 species of Butterfly. The first was a Brimstone which was large and green and refused to settle, so no pictures.
The second was this very 'poorly' Orange-tip. Amazing he still flew around with the same energy as any other butterfly, you only noticed the wing damage when he paused to rest in the sun
Finally, I saw this Green-veined White, perched on a blade of grass. I actually almost stood on him, he was that still. He was very patient while I carefully knelt down beside him to take this picture, which is the best of the bunch in my opinion
Note to self: always look around before stomping through the undergrowth 😉
Anyway, that was a pleasant morning rummaging in the undergrowth, time to find another reserve to explore...
Keep an eye out for Part 2 when we went to look for some Orchids
All names confirmed and checked via Wikispieces
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