Even if you really are tryin
You can miss where the Eyebright is lyin
To spot this small flower
Is quite in your power
you can’t miss it once you get your eye in
This morning I was accompanied by our resident volunteer Gale, who was keen to pick up more knowledge of Durlston’s wildlife. It was certainly a good day for it. You couldn’t walk more than a dozen paces without sighting a Meadow Brown taking wing. I pointed out Woody Nightshade, Common Vetch and Birds Foot Trefoil as we made our way to Large Copse. A Chaffinch was issuing a textbook quality call from the Black Pines above as we examined a stem of Garlic Mustard.
Beyond in Taskers Meadow we admired the soft colours of Pale Flax flowers, with short spears of Agrimony puncturing through the lower layers of grasses towards the sky above. A single Bee Orchid stood conspicuously apart from the central mass of flowers, allowing us to appreciate its beauty in isolation.
Taking a short detour to the Small Copse, we spotted a small fungus that strongly resembled a Yellow Fieldcap in the latter stages of its life. Next door in the Saxon Field we noted an unexpected late Cowslip, as well as a renegade stem of Ragwort. After a brief search we also discovered a small patch of Eyebright, then marvelled as we noticed dozens of other clumps, invisible mere moments ago. Once you’ve seen one, it’s much easier to spot the others.
A foray further into the Meadows and Downs revealed yet more natural wonders. Clumps of Dyers Greenweed displayed yet more yellow flowers, with Kidney Vetch and Yellow Wort getting in on the action too. Sainfoin showed pink while Pyramidal Orchids flushed purple, protruding from all manner of unexpected locations. Robin song drifted over the morning air, with occasional contributions from Whitethroats and distant trills of Skylarks from Meadows beyond.
Creeping over the downs a blue butterfly fluttered down onto a patch of Tall Fescue, folding its wings and swaying in the wind. It was too close to focus on with binoculars, so I crept closer to examine its underwings. A Common Blue.