I thought to myself on the way in today that I must try and get more familiar with the meadows and what they contain. Too often I am tempted down to the cliffs looking for birds, so today, armed with a Collins book on Wild Flowers, I take an amble. On the way, round the back of the Learning Centre I see a couple of Greenfinch, there yellow wing bar glowing in the morning’s low sun. In the distance I can see a Kestrel hovering above one of the fields, searching out his breakfast. In the Large Copse I bump into Harry Lodge, one of our regular volunteers, who tells me about a Common Spotted Orchid he had just seen. He takes me over to Taskers Meadow and we scour the area for some pinky purple tones and there it was, in early flower, its purple spotted leaves embedded in the thick grass.
Adjacent to Taskers is the small Paddock and in here I can see ‘Eggs & Bacon’ (which is how I was first introduced to this plant by former Estate Worker here at Durslton, Lydia Harris). This is because it has the deep yokey yellow and the warm reds of bacon. Its actual name is Birdsfoot Trefoil and its part of the pea family. Also here I see a swathe of Ground Ivy, its purple flowers and reddish leaves adding deep richness to this corner of the Paddock. Entering Saxon Field and across the path I hear a Whitethroat and then I track it down to the top of some vegetation. He flits from perch to perch, singing away, with echo songs coming back from other parts of the field.
As I walk through South Field toward the Downs I crouch to smell the strong scent of Herb Robert. Now on the Downs the purple and yellow flower of Bitter Sweet sits most strikingly against the green grasses. Last years Teasels stand tall and golden and the new fleshy leaves of Bristly Ox Tongue grow in abundance. Crawling down the Downland are the blue flowers of Germander Speedwell and as I pass damp clumps of Tor Grass, Adonis Blues pop up in abundance but take shelter deep in the tufts, so well so that even though I know where they landed, I struggled to locate them again! A quick peek at the Common Twyblade’s located by the overflow car park in which I spooked a female Roe Deer then back to base for me!