The smell of bonfires still hung in the air as yesterday we had some 43 A-Level Biology Students from Beechen Cliff School (Bath) whom helped us tackle the succession of scrub into the Meadows.
Despite a strong breeze (15 mph as I write) three butterflies were on the wing today. High up near the top of an Ash tree I suspected it was a Red Admiral although this corner had been popular with Speckled Woods. Two more Red Admirals appeared, one from the Gorse beside the diagonal path the other out of the scrub beside a sheltered path beside the centre. Upon the west facing slop of the gully I ventured down to the rock face, from where I sent up Kestrel that had been hidden below. The predator flew seawards then disappeared amongst cover below the Lighthouse. Earlier a swooping Kestrel had put in an appearance in South field. Both locations had a good sward to provide cover for small mammals. A Rabbit beside the small copse was exposed under a canopy of Blackthorn which had had its graded scrub edge removed also revealing Harts Tongue Fern and Stinking Iris where there was once shade!
After disturbing the “rock face” Kestrel I came across a subterranean Bee hive entrance which I had forgotten about from a recent team winter work walk. There was at least a score of Bees constantly about the stone topped entrance. Elsewhere, Meadow Ants became active when I lifted limestone slabs. Again I saw a Glow-worm beneath one such slap whilst a Pill Bug curled up like a Hedgehog when I disturbed it.
It was finches galore overhead in flocks of 15, 20 or 30 at a time although frustrating I failed to catch them at rest. Three Swallows swooped over the goat plot and three House Martins passed by the centre. Now it was either a Marsh or Willow Tit I saw near the centre. Cleary a Black head cap with a black beard below its bill, one had a bright red Bryony berry in its beak! Not hearing its call I could not distinguish between the species.
Interestingly at Tilly Whim steps I heard the machine gun fire calls of two birds. One I knew to be a Wren in the Tamarisk but the other sounded different. However, movement revealed a second Wren who’s called had been distorted by the acoustics of the gully steps cutting! The Raven duo were about, one over Lighthouse green the other around the mile markers. Calls gained responses from Carrion Crows and Jackdaws rather than each other.