These flights have not been cancelled

Two butterfly species currently on the wing (in fine weather), photographed by our lepidopterist Alan Watts:

The Gatekeeper, so called because they are often found sunbathing in the short grass near field gates.

And the Painted Lady, a frequent immigrant from France, but this year flying across the North Sea from Scandinavia.  There are therefore lots in Northern Britain for once - they love it.

Where do butterflies go in the rain?

 Stop press.  Just had to add this photo of another gatekeeper from butterfly whisperer Alan

Yarrow

 Easy to overlook, this is the wild Achillea, or Yarrow

The foliage is very divided and fern-like.  

The individual flowers are clustered in bunches at the top of the stem.

Coloured varieties of this plant are very popular for gardens.  

You may also find the ferny foliage in your lawn.

Green shield

The common green shield bug flies around from tree to shrub to undergrowth, sucking out plant juices.  Notice the overlapping transparent wings showing at the end of the body.

   Far from modest, these two carried on on the back of my hand.  Really!  I had to look away!

Mauve flowers

Three species flowering now at Filnore:

Beloved of butterflies the Field Scabious (Knautia arvensis)

Each flowerhead is made up of up to 50 tiny flowers - short ones in the middle and long ones round the outside.  The male stamens stick out, which earns the plant the name of 'lady's pin cushion'.

Rather more common are the flowers of the Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense).  Seen here amongst the grasses and willow herbs, this is what produces the thistledown now blowing across Filnore Woods.  Thistles spread by seed and also with their creeping roots.

But the flowers are great for butterflies, and goldfinches love the seeds.

Our third mauve butterfly flower is the Greater Knapweed (Centaurea scabiosa).  

Like the scabious it has shorter florets in the centre and long ones round the edge.

Mammal signs

The favourite branch of wildlife watching is birds.  Birds helpfully are about in the day and make a fair bit of noise.  More people express an interest in them than flowers or insects or trees.  Next come mammals but unfortunately they are mostly rather elusive and frequently nocturnal.  To study mammals you have to look for tracks, poos and other traces.

I was lucky the other day to startle a fox at Filnore.  It rushed off before I could take a photo.

A couple of weeks ago somebody's dog helpfully unearthed a dead shrew.  Apparently shrews taste rather unpleasant so whoever killed it decided not to eat it.  You can tell it's a shrew from the long snout.

More visible from underneath

We have grey squirrels which get rather active and vocal in late summer.  One clear sign of their presence is hazel nut shells cracked in half.  Other rodents make holes in the shell and eat decorously but squirrels just rip the nuts apart.

Somebody has been scraping the soil to get at plant roots.

A closer look shows that it is rabbits' work.  

We have not had many rabbits for a few years.  This was probably due to Rabbit Viral Haemorrhagic Disease 2 (RVHD2) which arrived in the UK in 1992.  

If they are making a comeback it is a mixed blessing:  on the one hand they are an attractive wildlife species to watch and they help to keep the grass short;  on the other hand they strip the bark of young trees, and they are not welcomed by our farming neighbours because of their liking for arable crops.

Wild Flowers at Coaley Peak

  On a recent trip to Coaley Peak in Gloucestershire we saw loads of beautiful blooms.  

Here are some flowers which we don't yet have at Filnore.

 Tall Melilot

Tufted vetch

Hemp Agrimony

 Meadow cranesbill

Yellow Rattle

Viper's Bugloss

And in the woodland on a fallen oak trunk, these magnificent Dryad's Saddle fungi.

Visit Coaley Peak now if you can.  There is a breathtaking view and the remains of an iron age tomb for added interest, and you can round off your visit with a coffee at the Thistledown Cafe nearby.

Snow in August

Looking like a scattering of snow, the flowers of field bindweed are spread along the path near the pylon at Filnore.

The flowers are much smaller than the Hedge Bindweed with its big white trumpets.

and sometimes they have pink stripes - I saw these by the skateboard park.