Northwest Norfolk Naturalists

Monday, 13 July 2020

A walk at Ringstead Downs

I visited Ringstead Downs today to walk my weekly butterfly transect. This year there are carpets of sweet-smelling Lady's Bedstraw but some plants such as Small Scabious seem to be less abundant than previous years. I found 3 small plants of White Horehound and about 25 small plants of Basil Thyme in flower.

Basil Thyme

Ringlets are very numerous at the moment, especially in the long grass on the south-east bank. Also good numbers of Meadow Brown and Small/Essex Skippers. This week I had 5 fresh Commas on the transect. Last week I found a Comma perched on a dead Pheasant amongst the scarab beetles.

Comma

Today, although quite common, it was nice to see an Ear Moth feeding on Small Scabious (difficult to photograph as the flowers were blowing in the wind).

Ear Moth

Monday, 29 June 2020

Holmhurst Track, 27th June

Orange-spot Piercer, Pammene aurana, Holmhurst Track, 27th June 2020

Ellipteroides lateralis, Holmhurst track, 27th June 2020

Banded General, Stratiomys potamida, Holmhurst track, 27th June 2020

Saturday, 20 June 2020

Off Patch: Dingy White Plume

Dingy White Plume Merrifieldia baliodactylus, Narborough NWT, 19th June 2020

Monday, 15 June 2020

Pirri-pirri-bur at Ringstead Downs

While walking my butterfly transect at Ringstead Downs today I noticed a patch of Pirri-pirri-bur Acaena novae-zelandiae on the north-west bank. I hadn't noticed it previously when it was in flower but the fruits, with their barbed red spines are very distinctive. It is believed that the Pirri-pirri-bur came to this country via wool from Australia and New Zealand in about 1900.