The last few days have been fabulous on the reserve! The weather helps of course. There is a lot of colour on the grassland with St John’s-wort, Rock-rose and Ragwort providing the yellows while Marjoram, Thyme and Wild Basil provide the purples. The overall effect is stunning. Thanks to Owain Thomas for the photo.
There are excellent numbers of butterflies all over the reserve. I was particularly pleased to see my first Purple Hairstreaks of the year. These were in oaks down the side of the quarry and, as a result, could be watched without straining my neck. They usual inhabit the upper reaches of the trees and, being rather small, can be difficult to find and see. The Silver-washed Fritillaries in contrast are very easy to spot being big and bright. I found about 20 on my circuit.
Rather smaller in size, it was good to see Gatekeeper numbers building up. Again, thanks to Owain for the image.
Up on the reserve there are good views down on the Gordano valley, and the village of Walton-in-Gordano. Last weekend was the village Summer Fete which I was invited to attend on behalf of the reserve and the Trust. With thanks to a loan from the local Avon Wildlife group (Portishead), and some images from the Trust, I managed to cobble together a display. John Rickard and I met a good few people and were able to discuss what we are up to in terms of management … and a bit of history of the reserve.
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