Blatant vandalism
Caught in the act, a grey squirrel stripping bark from a willow tree near the footbridge into Village Green; spotted, photographed and chased away by Ian Bushell
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Peacock butterflies
Four nests of peacock caterpillars have been photographed in the park this year and we hope there are more. Those caterpillars will be pupating soon and we will begin to see the new adults this month.
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Six-spot burnet moth
Six-spot burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae) seen in Village Green. The adults feed on the nectar of the thistles and knapweed that grow there. They lay their eggs on the caterpillar’s food plant, birdsfoot trefoil, among the grass.
![birdsfoot trefoil by Horia Varlen [CC BY 2.0]](https://southwickcountrypark.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/birdsfoot-trefoil-by-horia-varlen-cc-by-2.0.jpg?w=736)
Growing trees
The climate scientists are finally persuaded that Southwick Country Park’s solution to global warming is the right way to go. They should have asked us sooner.
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Water plantain ( Alisma plantago-aquatica) thriving in the Lambrok Tributary
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Tufted vetch
This is tufted vetch (Vicia cracca), a species of vetch native to Europe and Asia.
Continue readingNational Meadows Day
It’s National Meadows Day today, an annual celebration of wildflower meadows across the UK. The event takes place on the first Saturday of July each year.
Continue reading “National Meadows Day”Ruddy darter?
This is, without doubt, a picture of a ruddy darter (Sympetrum sanguineum). We rarely use as a headline any pictures that have not been taken in the park but this one was taken in Chemnitz, Germany by Jörg Hempel and has been downloaded from Wikimedia Creative Commons
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Roses in the rain.
photos by Suzanne Humphries
Ten wood pigeon facts
ONE: Wood pigeons are the most numerous large bird in Britain with an estimated 5 million breeding pairs.
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Creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense) taken at dawn this morning by DKG.
Damsel fly or dragonfly?
It is easiest to tell the difference between the two when they are at rest; then a damselfly’s wings are folded along its body while a dragonfly’s wings are outspread, held at right angles to its body.
Continue readingFantastic Mrs Fox
No, we haven’t seen an arctic fox in the park; that would be silly. Instead, here is the irresistible story of a record-breaking journey undertaken by an arctic fox, which demonstrates the resilience and adaptability of all the vulpine species, our common red fox included. It also raises questions, pertinent to everybody, about the effects of the frighteningly rapid loss of arctic ice.
A broad bodied chaser
A male broad bodied chaser at the Dog Pond, seen and photographed by Ian Bushell last week.
Continue readingCitizen science
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s hedgehog citizen science campaign begins today. They are asking volunteer citizen scientists to record and report hedgehog sightings and to monitor their behaviour and activity.
Continue reading “Citizen science”Mail from DKG
” Took these early this morning whilst the butterflies were still resting. A Gatekeeper and one other which may be a Meadow Brown or may not. There were so many of them in The Triangle near the picnic area.”
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