A gorgeous stroll out around the meadows, where clouds of butterflies were taking off and then landing amongst the wonderful flowers and grasses.
Looking down an abundance of Bird’s-foot Trefoil, Red Clover, Selfheal and Restharrow at ground level. Spikes of yellow Agrimony poking up alongside the flat white heads of Wild Carrot and the dandelion like Rough Hawksbit, Beaked Hawk’s-beard and Mouse-ear Hawkweed as well as the large dandelion clocks of Goat’s-beard.
The fluttering of the black and white Marbled White a constant feature as is the movement of Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers as well as the whirring wings of the Small Skipper butterflies. The black and red of the Six-spot Burnet Moth adding to the motion as does the short hop or flight of the grasshoppers which are busy chirring in the background. Stripe-winged and Meadow as well as the hairy-chested Field Grasshopper.
While watching a couple of Soldier Beetles on the remaining flowerhead of a Corky-fruited Water-dropwort, I spotted the pale almost yellow green leaves of the Adder’s-tongue Fern.
The Adder’s Tongue is much more evident in the spring, but today I noticed (for the first time) that its spike was about 3 times as long as the leaves and tipped in brown spores (in the spring it is shorter than the leaves).
Above me a Skylark was singing, a glorious song tumbling from the skies, while from the dead branch of an Elder a Wren was adding o the sound as was a Common Whitethroat and a Blackbird.
The moon last night was amazing a huge ball or red, the colour changing as it rose, ending in a lovey moonlit night. Around me the sound of bush-crickets, in flight some moths and bats, a Tawny Owl was hooting and a Badger scuttled past. While every now and then as I walked a gorgeous green glow was spotted amongst the grass, where a Glow-worm was shining.
The Bird ringers in again, today the first Grasshopper Warbler and Tree Pipit of the Autumn’!!