Tuesday 9 July 2013

An Afternoon with Butterflies on Gooseman's Field.

Behind our house and a short walk through the cemetery is a large area of meadow and young plantation; Gooseman's Field.  It is an area that I know well from my daily runs round here and it makes an ideal spot for some wildlife watching and photography when time is short. It is good all year for birds and in the summer for flowers and insects.  It is a spot where I often see some of my first spring migrants and today whitethroat, blackcap, willow warbler and chiffchaff were all singing.  Having an hour or so at my disposal I opted for a walk around looking for butterflies.  I was not disappointed; I saw and photographed meadow brown, small heath, large skipper and speckled wood.  There were also large numbers of ringlets but, despite usually being easy to photograph, they were not cooperating today.  I also spotted one common blue.  It was a beautiful cloudless afternoon and the air smelled of hot summer days, the scent of hot earth, wild roses, clover and broad beans filling the air.  Despite being close to roads the only sound was the occasional snort of one of the horses tethered in the field.  Flowers were plentiful and included, red and white clover, tufted and horseshoe vetch and rockrose.
Dog Rose.

Dog Rose.

Horseshoe Vetch.

Large Skipper.

Meadow Brown.

Rockrose.

Small Heath.

Small Heath.

Speckled Wood.

Speckled Wood.

Tufted Vetch.

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