The first day of August providing another blue sky, with a fresh westerly breeze. With the dry weather and seeds in the meadows ripening and drying we are collecting some with a small brush harvester (on the back of an ATV), the collected seeds will be sorted from the chaff and then used in a local limestone grassland restoration project. We are only doing small sections of a limited number of fields to ensure most seeds remain for the future.
As the work continues a quick look at the flowers across the fields produces a great selection, including the tall and purple Greater Knapweed along with Black Knapweed, plus masses of white headed Wild Carrot, spikes of Agrimony and Yellow Rattle. Closer to the grounds the pinky-grey of Red Bartsia and the yellow of Bird’s-foot Trefoil and white of Field Bindweed.
Crawling up a stem of Fleabane a 7-spot Ladybird, while on the flower a Gatekeeper was posing. Taking off from the grasses Meadow Brown butterflies galore.
The chirping of grasshoppers a constant in the background, as I looked down a Meadow Grasshopper pinged onto the stem of Yorkshire Fog, and a Great Green Bush-cricket then emerged from the patch. Once you start looking more appears with a Field Grasshopper and a Dark Bush-cricket, then the long legs and small round body of a Harvestman and the black shape of a Greater Bloody-nosed Beetle both clambering across the stems of Lady’s Bedstraw.
From the Blackthorn scrub came the ‘chatting’call of Stonechats, and on searching for them 5 were spotted including mottled youngsters and a smart black headed male.
As I was looking for them, Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs both popped into view as did a group of Goldfinches as they took off from the patch of Wild Madder to land on a patch of Brambles.
Ahead of me a berry laden Hawthorn, was topped with a female Kestrel, her colouring a lovely delicate mottling of browns.