Tags
Banded burdock fly, Brown Argus, comma, dropwort, Horehound moth, Spiked speedwell, Veronica spicata, White horehound
August 3rd
Part 3 – Rhiwleddyn Nature Reserve
It is wonderful to wander through places that have been left alone and to find indigenous plants that could have been growing there for hundreds of years, or in some cases, even thousands. But areas that have in one way or another been ‘disturbed’ often bring forth species of flora and fauna not seen in areas that haven’t, as in the next part of my wander around the reserve.
Brambles and nettles threaten to take over this small, scrubby area in the midst of the reserve, but there are plants tough enough to hold their own there, one being Common Sorrel.
The tall stately Great Mullein with its large beautiful grey-green velvety leaves sometimes graces a disturbed scrubby patch. It’s a biennial plant, so flowers appear during each plant’s second year. It is a locally common plant, but its appearance in a specific area each year is not predictable; which makes it more of a treat when you do find it. Each plant usually produces a single flowering spike; one with multiple spikes may indicate that it was nibbled by rabbits in the early stages of its growth.
White horehound, is one of the scarcer plants to be found within the reserve. Its presence here is tenuous year on year, as it is constantly under threat of being out-competed by rampant ‘coarse’ vegetation such as nettles and brambles; its survival largely dependent upon diligent scrub-clearing and management by the reserve management team and Wildlife Trust volunteers. The plant is also found, in greater amounts, on the Great Orme.
White horehound is important as it is the only food plant of the larvae of the Horehound Moth Wheeleria spilodactylus. Inhabiting chalky soils, this is a localised species of plume moth, largely confined to the Isle of Wight and a few scattered localities in Wales and Southern England. The exceptionally well-camouflaged caterpillars appeared on plants here earlier in the year when I took this photograph; they are evidence that the battle to maintain its ongoing presence is important to this species of moth.
I haven’t seen the moth myself, but found this perfect picture of one, appropriately taken on the foodplant on the Great Orme by John Martin. Respecting the copyright of the image, this is the link to it. http://www.ukmoths.org.uk/species/wheeleria-spilodactylus/adult-on-foodplant-2/
A little grasshopper sat basking, sheltered from the wind and very well camouflaged on a bramble leaf. I doubt I’d have seen him if I’d not caught sight of him land there.
This is him/her greatly enlarged
Another tough plant here is the Lesser Burdock. I like the plant with its round prickly flower heads and tufts of purple flowers that will soon dry into ‘burrs’ and stick to anything that brushes against them. I approached the plant to photograph it; as I did so, I got excited to see that a little butterfly had the same idea and had only my second sighting so far this year of a perfect little Brown Argus.
The poor thing was fighting to stay put in the strong wind and I was struggling to keep my camera lens focussed on it. I was vaguely aware of a small fly sharing the same space on the plant as the butterfly, but was too intent on the matter in hand to pay much heed to it. It was small and yellowish and flitting about a fair bit, but at the time it didn’t click that this might be a fly I’d been hoping to find for the past few years that is a burdock specialist.
It wasn’t until the next day, when I looked at my images properly that I realised this little fly was indeed most likely a Banded burdock fly-Terellia tussilaginis and that I’d almost missed it!
At least it gives me good reason to show more images of the lovely little butterfly.
I was getting a bit fed up with the wind now but battled on towards the top as I wanted to get an image of the stunning view of Llandudno that you get from this side of the Little Orme headland. It was only when I got there I remembered that I had actually been somewhat sheltered from the full force of the wind! it was still so strong it took my breath away and I had to lean against a rock to brace myself, not only to steady the camera but also myself. Worth it though, what a view!
I didn’t stay to lingeringly admire the view, and was quickly on the way back down to seek a calmer spot. Facing now in the other direction and looking down onto the fields below I had the random sight of a male Pheasant, not a bird I see often. He was looking a bit bedraggled and was clearly limping. Had he been been shot and survived, hit by a car, or even attacked by a fox or dog? Fortunately he seemed still to be able to fly well enough.
A little further on I spotted a little splash of blue in the short grass in front of me and much to my surprise here was one of the Reserve’s special treasures – a single stem of the lovely little Spiked Speedwell. This is a plant that is cultivated and grown in gardens, but only grows in the wild in the Breckland grasslands of East Anglia and very locally in Wales and Western England.
A few metres away, standing a little taller, a single flower stem of Dropwort, another specialist of calcareous grassland, this one being bent almost to the ground by the strength of the wind.
Hawthorn is one of the few species of tree that is not nibbled by rabbits or sheep in its early stages and that can also withstand exposure to the strong, salt-laden winds the headland is subject to. Most are contorted into weird and wonderful shapes, but this one, although short has grown large and spread fairly evenly.
I met up with the young Robin again on my way back down.
And a beautiful Comma butterfly landed on the bare earth of the track.
The sheep were where I’d left them, settled down comfortably now for an afternoon siesta in the sunshine.
Looking up from the track below I saw they were still watching me, with definite smug, self-satisfied smiles on their faces.
I was more than happy with my final wildflower tally for this walk, which included (in no particular order!): Common calamint; Common rock-rose; Black horehound; White horehound; Hedge woundwort; Water mint; Lady’s bedstraw; Spiked speedwell; Dropwort; Wild thyme; Common cinquefoil; Centaury; Carline thistle; Goldenrod; Lesser burdock; Common sorrel; Great mullein; Harebell; Perforate St John’s Wort; Wild clematis; Yellow-wort; Wild fennel; Marjoram; Wild carrot; Hemlock; Ragwort; Ploughman’s spikenard; Yarrow
sconzani said:
I very much enjoyed your walk, Theresa, and the treasures you discovered along the way. 🙂
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theresagreen said:
Thank you for your lovely comments. You’re right about the old-fashioned names of plants, particularly the ones in this post, most of which have been and in some cases still are, used in traditional herbal medicine: so much of our natural and social history is centred around plants! Sheep are an intrinsic part of our landscape here in Wales, in some cases for better and in others for worse for our native flora & fauna, so you either love them or not. Individually they are often characterful and amusing, as long as they stay within their bounds!
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naturebackin said:
Lovely to see your photos and descriptions of these grassland and other plants. The old-fashioned-sounding names seem to carry such a depth of history and country lore. Also nice to see the insects and birds, and even the sheep appear to be quite endearing!
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Mike Hardisty said:
Another great set of photographs, Theresa, Your knowledge of plants and wildlife is really good.
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theresagreen said:
Thank you Mike, I’m especially pleased you liked the photographs! For me, the images I take are partly my ‘notes’ on the forays I make and a record of what I saw & where, so the quality of most of them doesn’t even come close to the wonderful studied landscape images you take yourself. I still have a lot to learn about the plants and other wildlife in our wonderful area, but loving the journey of discovery!
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theresagreen said:
Thank you Ruth, I do love my wildflowers and this limestone area holds a wonderful array of them. You’re right about that wind, it was strong enough to blow me over, at times it was like resistance swimming, putting a lot of effort into not getting very far! Good exercise though to compensate for time spent dawdling about taking photographs!
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Ruth Livingstone said:
Sounds as if you were almost blown away at the top! Well, I was almost blown away too, by your knowledge of plants. Another interesting and informative post, Theresa.
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Patricia Tilton said:
I feel the pure joy in your adventures through the nature preserve, as I read your commentary and study your gorgeous photographs of the plants, butterflies, sheep and coastal area. It must be a sanctuary for you!
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theresagreen said:
Thank you for your kind and insightful comments, as always Pat. I do find joy and solace in the outdoors and can become completely absorbed in the nature I find there.This outing turned out to be more of an adventure than I’d anticipated, but also enjoyable and memorable!
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paulamcquoid said:
Hello Theresa. Thank you again for taking time out to send me your most wonderful camera shots, making me say awe lots of times at the lovely plants, insects, beautiful sheep, and sadly that poor pheasant. But you always put a smile on my face. Paula
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theresagreen said:
Hello Paula. Thank you so much for your lovely comments, they are much appreciated and made me smile too! It’s good to know that the things I photograph and write about are interesting to others too. Best wishes, Theresa x
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