The Hills are Alive with Butterflies

 

We went to Tyneham today, it was a beautiful sunny day which was unexpected as the weather forcast was not promising.  The walk on the hill to Flower's Barrow, an Iron Age hillfort, was ablaze with the Gorse with it's scent filling the air and where we found the Green Hairstreak butterflies.  We saw loads of the Wall butterfly, and found a male & female Adonis Blue. 

 

Thrift on the edge of the cliff, looking towards Lulworth.

Difficult to capture the yellow of the Gorse against the blue of the sea and the sky.  It was glorious, along the hill from Tyneham village to the Flower's Barrow.  Surprisingly there was a few Bluebells on this hill.  You tend to think Bluebells as a woodland flower but I see them everywhere, the English Bluebell, including along the cliff top.

The Dukes of Cerne Abbas

We went to Cerne Abbas to look for butterflies on the hill where the Cerne Abbas Giant is.  I wanted to find the Duke of Burgundy and I was  not disappointed.  Both Marsh Fritillary and Duke of Burgundy are on this hill, the lower part, and they are out at the same time.  I took two cameras with me, the Fujifilm and the Lumix, used both cameras, just to make sure I got pictures of this tiny butterfly.  The first picture was taken by Malcolm, my partner, using my Fujifilm camera while I took a few using the Lumix.  He got the best picture :-)

  

These next two pictures are mine :-)  I did take loads, picked out my best ones.  I also took a few of the Marsh Fritillary and a Small Copper.

The Old Beech Tree

 

 

We went to Hilfield Friary for their National Garden Scheme open day.  On our way to the friary we found Hilfield nature reserve run by the Dorset County Council.  Dorset Wildlife Trust also has a nature reserve in the same area, Hendover Coppice which many years ago was used by the monks for quite contemplation.  Both reserves are close to the Friary.  Found this lovely old beech tree, I think it may have been coppiced many years ago and it had grown several new stems and over the years the stems have got bigger, thicker until they merge together to form this wonderful tree. 

 

This snail was in the Secret Garden

A representation of Christ on the Cross in the Secret Garden at Hilfield Friary