Amid the quaking grasses dwell a thousand tiny things
Brown, tan and green musicians striking chords on chitin strings
Different notes for different strokes, from thickest down to thinnest
Cricket cellos alongside Grasshopper violinists
Goldfinches were resting atop a patch of Buddleia in the Wildlife Area as I passed by this morning. One of them sat staring at the bird ringers nets for a little while before taking off and flying in the opposite direction. Perhaps it had been caught before?
No sooner had I embarked towards South Field than the air became thick with Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper butterflies. Some sat sunning themselves, others fluttered about elegantly and a few were tumbling through the air in a mating embrace. Another search for fungi yielded no results, with Bristly Ox Tongue and Burdock engulfing the area almost completely.
Field Scabious, Grass Vetchling and Wild Parsnips were particularly prolific about the Meadow, with a short foray into the Small Copse revealing a particularly impressive den. If the architect is reading this, I applaud your craftsmanship.
Further abroad in the park Field and Meadow Grasshoppers were to be seen, springing through the air in neat parabolas as if fired from miniature catapults as I passed. Up in the trees a mixture of birdlife made short flights between sheltered boughs, with Blackbirds, Whitethroats, Garden Warblers, Dunnocks and Linnets all seen.
Up on the downs a few Skylarks could be heard displaying, and as I padded down to the Lighthouse a Herring Gull sailed lazily through the air in front of me, a slight roll side to side the only visible movement of its body. Marbled Whites fluttered beside me as I marched up the Lighthouse Road, Ladies Bedstraw lining the bank to my right and a few impressive Globe Thistles standing tall on my left.
The bird ringers recorded a good crop of Garden and Willow Warblers today. If you’re looking to get some practice identifying your bird calls, the park is the place to be.