Tyneham

 We went to Tyneham yesterday, Bank Holiday Monday.   The gorse, we noticed this Spring is not flowering like previous years, the winter seem to have caused them to go brown, the new green shoots are growing but not a lot of flowers which is completely different from last year, the gorse was ablaze with yellow flowers and it was stunning.   We were hoping to find the Green Hairstreak butterfly like we did last year on the gorse but found none which is probably not surprising, also the area is MOD and they manage the area around Tyneham and some of the gorse has been trimmed back along the path. 

 Adonis Blue butterfly, a few of these were flying around

A close up front view of the Adonis, cute

 Side view, this butterfly was quite happy on my finger

Thrift

Happy Family on the River Allen

A lovely moment watching this family on the River Allen in Wimborne on Wednesday this week.  I noticed the mother flipped her wing which seemed to be a message to the cygnets to climb onto her back because about four of them clambered onto her back.  I think there was eight but because I was so busy taking pictures I did not count how many cygnets there was.  Dad was there busy eating the weed in the water.

Cerne Abbas and Durlston Country Park

 The butterfly season is moving on so yesterday we went to Cerne and found the Duke of Burgundy and today we went to Durlston Country Park, saw a few different species of butterflies; Adonis Blue, Small Blue, Green Hairstreak, Speckled Wood, Large White.    

Duke of Burgundy

Dingy Skipper

Cuckoo Flower or Lady's Smock

Isle of  White from Durlston Country Park

Wild Gladioli

Early Purple Orchid

Horseshoe Vetch

Just About Hanging On

We went to Arne for a walk and also for coffee, the RSPB now have a cafe at Arne and it is very nice.   These oak trees are on the coastal edge and both are still alive and in full leaf which is surprising when you see how much of the soil has been washed away by the sea, exposing their roots.

Durlston Today

A lovely day at Durlston Country Park, the meadows are now dominated by Cowslips and a few Early Purple orchids too.

Unlucky and at the same time Lucky

 Malcolm, my partner and I went to Morden Bog today for excercise so I did not take my camera with me and guess what, we saw a flock of Crossbills.   Now I say unlucky because I did not have my camera but lucky because Morden Bog is surrounded by Wareham Forest which is quite an extensive area of pine woodland, so to see a flock of Crossbills is a miracle.  So I count myself both unlucky and lucky at the same time.  We saw plenty of Lousewort along our route, the picture I have posted was taken at Kingcombe Meadows in 2010.  

I think I need to write a hundred lines, NEVER GO OUT WITHOUT YOUR CAMERA.

Lousewort