A bright pink sky as the sun rose above the horizon first thing this morning, a glorious sight. My patrol began a little later in warm sunshine – the hottest day of the year possible today.
Singing loudly a Skylark, one of 4 heard or seen around the meadows, such a gorgeous sound. The fields are constantly changing with the delicate blue of Pale Flax mixing with the white Ox-eye Daisies and the golden yellow of the Bulbous and Meadow Buttercups. Patches of Sainfoin are covering the area in pink, while a variety of grasses include Cocksfoot, Yorkshire Fog, Tall Fescue and Downy Oat Grass.
The banks of the downs are covered in the short yellow flowers of Horseshoe Vetch, fluttering above them the turquoise Adonis Blue butterfly and a dark brown female of the species. Sat alongside allowing for a good comparison was a Common Blue, much more lilac and without the black lines.
The Hawthorn is looking amazing covered in May blossom, a white carpet along the gully, scattered amongst the odd Elderflower as well as the dangly flowers of the Sycamores.
The Cow Parsley along the edges, now accompanied by Hogweed, many of these stems draped in the bubbles of Cuckoo Spit. Attached to a stem of Tor Grass was a thin yellow cocoon of a Six-spot Burnet moth, while wandering across the grass and on posts are the hairy and irritating caterpillars of the Brown Tail moth.
In last night’s moth trap were some amazing specimens including the furry Fox Moth and Pale Tussock, the beautifully marked Broken Barred Carpet, a large red and black and white Cream Spot Tiger, the bark marked Waved Umber and amongst 25 other species.
A check on the Hereford Cattle which were lying down munching on the cud, while hovering above the Saxon meadow was a Kestrel, not seeing the small Bank Vole that ran across in front of me.
Chatting noisily from the Blackthorn was a Stonechat, with a Common Whitethroat scratchily singing nearby, Great Tit calling and a Blue Tit flitting by carrying a grub of some kind in its beak, off to feed its chicks.