Insects galore as I walked around Durlston Country Park and National Nature Reserve this morning, the flutter of wings catching the eye and the buzzing and chirping the ear.
On slightly closer inspection the meadows were awash with Gatekeeper butterflies, a dark brown edge to the orange centre, but just to add a little confusion some of the paler varieties of the Meadow Brown looking quite similar. The darker varieties meanwhile can be mistaken for the older Ringlets! So to be sure I watched them landing on the fronds of the Bracken just to check the presence of the Ringlet’s seven cream rings on the underwing. The other member of the ‘brown’ butterfly family is the Marbled White, hundreds of which are to be seen in black, white with an almost greenish tinge at times.
Sunbathing on the purple flower of the Greater Knapweed was the superb coloured and marked Dark-green Fritillary, while on the bare stone below a Wall Brown basked, hovering the red and black flashes of the Six-Spot Burnet moth.
Hidden (almost) in amongst the leaves of Ivy was Brimstone, wings closed so looking a little like a dying leaf, provoked into activity as a Large White flew by.
Along the coast both Lulworth Skipper and Small Skipper in flight, while on the tiny many flowered white heads of Wild Carrot numerous orange Soldier Beetles were probing for nectar.
Large Buff-tailed Bumble Bees buzzed around the Bristly Ox-tongue, while trundling slowly below was a Greater Bloody-nosed Beetle, perhaps aiming for the nearby large patch of Lady’s Bedstraw, which was providing a delightful smell, understandable why it was used to make pillow smell better in times gone by.
Even though we are still in July, bird migration is taking place, my first Yellow Wagtail was strutting on the new path to the observation point, while skulking along a hedgerow was a Grasshopper Warbler.
There are still lots of young bird about including families of both Common Whitethroats and Lesser Whitethroats, Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps. The flash of a white rump and some Bullfinches were identified in the Blackthorn.
The loud cackle of a Green Woodpecker turned by attention to the skies where Swallows were swooping magnificently around, some even checking out the eaves of the buildings – maybe they’ll come back and nest here next year.
Outside the window a Willow Warbler hoping through the Buddleia where Peacock and Red Admiral were seen yesterday while a Large Tortoiseshell was also spotted yesterday.
Flashing along the cliffs a Peregrine Falcon, on the water a solitary Guillemot and soaring around the cliffs a Fulmar.