Nature Notes July 2023

Nature Notes July 2023

There has been a noticeable lack of butterflies so far this summer. This may be due in part to the extremes of weather that we have had over the past twelve months, but things are now beginning to look up. So on a hot sunny morning early in the month we took a walk along The Moor which is always a good place to look for butterflies, and sure enough the hedges were alive with Ringlets, Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers, nectaring on Bramble and other wild flowers. A patch of Creeping Thistle was filling the air with a strong scent of honey, luring in our first Painted Lady of the year. This was in pristine condition as we were able to see the blue scales forming circular spots on the underside of the wings, which are usually quickly worn away.

We had recently had a brief trip to the Lincolnshire Limewoods in search of butterflies which don’t occur in Norfolk, but the weather was against us, it being windy with thick cloud. We did however enjoy an amazing meadow full of magenta Betony, burgundy Great Burnet and mauve Saw-wort, none of which are common in our county. However, it is not always necessary to travel far to find special plants. David found a Bee Orchid flowering in St Michael’s churchyard and Judith and Rufus discovered blue Wild Clary growing in the square of grass between Elizabeth Close and School Road, which had not been cut until recently, allowing the plants to come into flower. White Hedge Bedstraw is growing along Bar Lane and at the junction of Ollands Road and Old Brewery Lane, something I had not seen flowering in Reepham previously. Some seeds can remain viable in the soil for many years, waiting for conditions to be right for them to germinate: the extreme heat of last summer, followed by a very wet March may have been the trigger that was needed to spark these unusual plants into putting in an appearance.

Even closer to home, Charles and Fran found a pair of Buff-tip moths on the wall of their house, just one of many species of moth that live all around us and we never see, unless we take steps to actively seek them out. People who run moth traps can record hundreds of different species in their garden over the course of a year. All moths are released unharmed once identified: although Robins can occasionally take released specimens.

Do let me know if you see any interesting wildlife (rachel.42rr@btinternet.com)