The bright and warm summer sunshine was beaming down on Durlston today. High out of sight, Skylarks can be heard singing over the meadows. What a sight that must be looking down, with the meadows in full bloom of colours. It’s a wonder how these birds locate their nests amongst the great variety of plants and grasses.
Scatterings of Eyebright, Wild Thyme and Common Centaury follow the meadow pathways on the shorter turf. Field Scabious, Agrimony and Wild Parsley emerge amongst the fields, broken up by the big broad leaves of Burdock which takes over the patches where it grows.
Many butterflies were out making the most of the sun this morning, Marbled Whites, Large Whites and Meadow Browns. Also the day-flying and strikingly coloured red and black Six-spot Burnett Moths. Lots of skippers can be seen fluttering between the flowers. I kept my eye out for the bright ‘sunray’ crescent distinctive of Lulworth Skippers (or more affectionately known as the Durlston Skipper), though only Small Skippers were identified today.
As I strolled through South Field, lying there on the path I found a Pygmy Shrew - one of three types of shrew that can be found in the UK. The poor fella must have passed on recently, with no obvious signs of damage, an easy meal for any passing opportunist! Lucky for me I got there first, offering me a rare chance to see one up close. They sure are funny looking creatures, but very cute none the less!
A great variety of vetches can be seen in the meadows at the moment. Tufted Vetch, Bush Vetch, Common Vetch, Common Restharrow, Meadow Vetchling, Horseshoe Vetch and Birds-foot Trefoil to name a few! Members of the pea family, these plants are legumes, known for their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen into nitrates fertilising the soil.