Isle of Wight - 3rd June

A sunny, warm day. Highlights were Glanville Fritillary, Peregrine, Ravens and over 100 species of flower including Bee Orchid, Sea Milkwort and Common Broomrape.

We met at Lyminton and took the ferry over to Yarmouth. On the mudflats at Lymington there were Redshanks, Oystercatchers and Shelduck and on the crossing we saw Black-headed Gulls.
Behind Yarmouth there are some pools by the river Yar. We walked beside these towards Freshwater. Goldfinches and Greenfinches sang and House Martins played in the air. On the pools there was a Common Tern fishing and a group of about 20 Black-tailed Godwit, some in beautiful summer plumage. There was also Shelduck, Moorhen, Coot, Little Egret and a Reed Warbler singing. The plants around here were common species of coastal wayside and waste ground such as Common Mallow, Teasel, Alexanders, Spotted Medick, Dove’s-foot Crane’s-bill, Scarlet Pimpernel and Fat Hen. There was also a little Marsh Mallow and Great Mullein with Mullein Shark moth caterpillars feeding on it.
The path from Yarmouth to Freshwater goes along the river Yar and passes through several different habitats. Firstly hedgerows and fields with saltmarsh by the river. Here we saw flowers such as Cut-leaved Crane’s-bill, Pineapple Mayweed, Lords and Ladies and Great Willowherb in the hedgerows and Sea Purslane, Sea Lavender and Lesser sea Spurrey in the salt marsh. The salt marsh gives way to reedbeds and here was a Sedge Warbler some more Reed Warblers and some Reed Buntings singing. The path then goes through woodland with lots of Herb Robert, Herb Bennet, Garlic Mustard, Red Campion and, in the wetter areas, Lesser Spearwort. Towards Freshwater there is a large area of wet fen with some woods and rivers. Here there were Blackcap, Reed Warbler and Chiffchaff singing and Meadowsweet, Yellow Flag Iris, Wild Angelica and Ragged Robin flowering.
After lunch in the café at Freshwater we walked up the cliffs and along eastwards towards Compton Chine. At the base of the cliffs was Thrift and Rock Samphire and in the first areas of grassland on the top we saw Buckshorn Plantain. As we walked through the cliff-top grassland we saw a few butterflies – Small Heath and Speckled Wood. Then an orangey butterfly caught my eye and it landed close by. It was a Glanville Fritillary – a real speciality of the island. We watched it for a few moments before it flew off. The soil here is chalky and this is reflected in the flowers we saw. Wild Thyme, Kidney Vetch, Horseshoe Vetch, Bird’s-foot Trefoil, Hoary Plantain, Wild Cabbage, Common Rock-rose, Fairy Flax and Hoary Stock – a rare species of chalk cliffs. Rock Pipits were at the cliff edge and further on we saw Skylarks, Linnets and Meadow Pipits. Further on we found Yellow Horned Poppy and Red Valerian by the roadside and then Bee Orchids, a few Common Spotted Orchids and some Pyramidal Orchids just coming into flower. Another area had lots of Common Broomrape flowering. We finally came to the more sandy cliffs at Compton Chine where the soil slumps down the cliff. Here there were a few more Glanville Fritillary and lots of Common Blue butterflies. The flowers were different too with Hop Trefoil, Sea Mouse-ear and Common Stork’s-bill.
To get back to Yarmouth we retraced our steps. We did see a few new things. A Gannet out to see, attracted by gulls feeding on a shoal of fish, 4 Ravens being mobbed by a Peregrine, Hound’s-tongue on the chalk and some Sea Milkwort on the brackish shores of the river Yar.
Simon Curson