Re: David M
Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2023 10:34 am
Tuesday 25th July – Fabulous spectacle…
Aside from the Wall Browns, the other reason I ventured down to Rhossili Head is because my neighbour told me that there had been several wild flower meadows sown alongside the regular sunflower fields. These were glorious to both look at and walk through:
It just shows what a little hard work and imagination can do – these fields were thronged with butterflies; more than I have ever seen at a single site on the Gower since I moved here nearly ten years ago.
Meadow Browns were about in almost pestilent numbers, with well over a thousand seen:
Hedge Browns were around in the multi-hundreds:
There were several dozen of both Common Blue and Brown Argus:
Plenty of both Large & Small Whites were seen:
About two dozen Small Coppers were found:
There were five Peacocks:
Three fresh-looking Painted Ladies were most welcome:
Four Red Admirals and a solitary Small Tortoiseshell were recorded:
A handful of faded Small Skippers were still on the wing, along with four similarly worn Dark Green Fritillaries:
There were even a few Graylings knocking about:
With 2,500+ butterflies to look at, it was sometimes hard to take a moment to stare at the fabulous views across Worm’s Head:
I hope that these wonderful wild flower meadows continue to be sown each year as this experience was akin to going back in time by over half a century.
Aside from the Wall Browns, the other reason I ventured down to Rhossili Head is because my neighbour told me that there had been several wild flower meadows sown alongside the regular sunflower fields. These were glorious to both look at and walk through:
It just shows what a little hard work and imagination can do – these fields were thronged with butterflies; more than I have ever seen at a single site on the Gower since I moved here nearly ten years ago.
Meadow Browns were about in almost pestilent numbers, with well over a thousand seen:
Hedge Browns were around in the multi-hundreds:
There were several dozen of both Common Blue and Brown Argus:
Plenty of both Large & Small Whites were seen:
About two dozen Small Coppers were found:
There were five Peacocks:
Three fresh-looking Painted Ladies were most welcome:
Four Red Admirals and a solitary Small Tortoiseshell were recorded:
A handful of faded Small Skippers were still on the wing, along with four similarly worn Dark Green Fritillaries:
There were even a few Graylings knocking about:
With 2,500+ butterflies to look at, it was sometimes hard to take a moment to stare at the fabulous views across Worm’s Head:
I hope that these wonderful wild flower meadows continue to be sown each year as this experience was akin to going back in time by over half a century.