On
Monday my wife had a hospital appointment so I had a little wander
around the area known as Worcester Woods Country Park. It is an area
of woodland and meadows surrounded by roads and the ever growing
suburbia of Worcester.
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| Welcome to Worcester Woods Country Park |
It
was a warm sunny spring afternoon and I had a short walk around the
meadows. It was not long before I spotted some Cowslips, I think they
are such beautiful little flowers. These were also the first Cowslip
flowers I had seen this year. They only grow in open grassland and I
am pleased that these meadows have 100's of them. They provide a good
food source for many bees and flies, which were out in large numbers
today. But they are also the larval host for the rare Duke of
Burgundy butterfly. Unfortunately, this was not seen, we can but
hope!
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| Cowslip |
When
I came across a large nettle patch I was amazed to see 15 Small
Tortoiseshells. They are a common butterfly but have experienced a
decline of 65% since 1995. Seeing this many in one spot is reassuring
and it also highlights the importance of nettle patches as they are
vital for the health of our butterflies. Small Tortoiseshells are one
of many butterfly species that use nettles as a larval host. They are
often one of the first species of Butterfly to be seen each year.
This is as a result of them overwintering in adult form, often in
sheds and garages, emerging on the first warm days of spring. I saw
my first in early March.
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| Small Tortiseshell |
Whilst
I have seen plenty of Small Tortoiseshell's this year I did have a
butterfly first on my trip. It was a Speckled wood. Unlike the small
tortoiseshell, they do not overwinter as an adult, but rather
uniquely as both a larva and pupa. The one I saw would have over
wintered as a pupa and hatched in the warm weather that we were
having. They tend to favour woodlands but due to the close proximity
to the woodland I was not surprised to see them in the meadow's.
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| Speckled Wood |
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| Speckled Wood |
The real highlight of the trip, apart from my wife returning successfully from her operation, was a redstart. This bird will have been on migration from its wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa to northern Britain where it breeds in Oak woodlands. Sightings in Worcester are quite rare and confined to spring and autumn when is is migrating. They, like many species are in long term decline, but the Redstart's statistics are not as bad as some species and in recent years there has been a slight increase, there are currently 100,000 pairs breeding.
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| Redstart |
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| The Playing Field |
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