Burley Backstreets 12th August

A fairly sunny, but windy afternoon. Highlights were Treecreeper, Heath Grasshopper and Grayling.

3 of us met at the car park in Burley and set off to discover the quiet back streets. The first streets have cottages along them and we saw a little Musk Mallow growing by the lane side. There is a large meadow at one point that had a lot of Common Knapweed flowering. Then the lanes take on a more rural character with wooded sides. Here we saw woodland flowers such as Enchanters Nightshade, Orpine and Herb Bennet. The trees and shrubs are really beginning to fruit now with Blackberries, Hazelnuts, Sloe berries and Hawthorn berries everywhere. We saw several Robins as we walked and at one point we stopped and watched a Treecreeper feeding on a large bough right above us for 5 minutes or so. Up through further areas of woodland where Common Fleabane and Tutsan were growing by the path edge and we saw a Nuthatch.
Then out onto the open heath at Castle Hill. Here several House Martins were feeding in the air and 2 Kestrels were also looking for food, hovering almost above us at one point. Very few birds around, but quite a few insects. Grayling butterflies, Green Tiger Beetle and Keeled Skimmer at one place. Dennis also found a Painted Lady butterfly. We stopped at one area of short heather to look for the rare Heath Grasshopper. After catching a few Field Grasshopper and a Meadow Grasshopper we did eventually catch a Heath Grasshopper. A brisk walk along the roads bought us back to Burley.
Simon Curson