Our first highlight of the day were several spikes of Early-purple Orchid, a new species for myself and an absolute stunner with a magnificent coastal scenery as a backdrop. A couple other Lizard specialities were also in flower including Twin-headed Clover and Upright Clover, kindly pointed out to us by the botanical group that we bumped into along the way (the twin-headed being exceptionally rare in the UK occuring solely at the Lizard whilst the Upright only occurs in two other locations in the UK!). One of my undoubtable favourites, however, was Thyme Broomrape, a vivid red parasitic flower and an absolute stunner when seen through the macro lens. We also encountered at least two large caterpillar species, Grass Eggar and Oak Eggar.
Kynance Cove
Early-purple Orchid
Thyme Broomrape
Oxeye Daisy
Thrift
More Early-purple Orchids
Spring Squill
Grass Eggar
male Small Copper
typical patch of coastal flower
Upright Clover
jumping spider species
Twin-headed Clover
Common Blue
Oaker Eggar
On reaching Lizard Point, we bumped into the nesting pair of Choughs, returning to the nest occasionally to attend their chicks which had apparently only hatched yesterday!
pair of Choughs at Lizard Pont
Other highlights included a male Wheatear (having seen them mostly on migration I have never seen or heard one singing before so that was an additional bonus to seeing the bird!). A couple butterflies were also on the wing including numerous Wall Browns, the occasional Common Blue and a single male Small Copper.
Just after getting back, it was back off out again into the field. This time it was with a group of EcoSocers to set up moth traps at Argal and College Reservoir. I took a brief scan for the Scaup but it seemed that had sadly moved on. It wasn't all that bad as one of the members found this Glow Worm in the middle of the path in broad daylight!
female Glow Worm
Your blue plant looks like Spring Squill.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dave for the ID. I must admit I didn't put much effort into identifying the plants and I tend to do that when I find the time a little later so I should find the names for most of the other species soon.
ReplyDelete