Time for a Holiday! - we usually chose a different location to visit each year, in order to explore both the different places, and the different wildlife they contain. We often book a full week away so we can explore the area properly, but money is tight this year so, we've made do with a mid-week break: 2 nights down in the Wyre Forest. It might only be for a few days, but we aim to see as much as possible...
Day 3 - Dowels Brook Walk
Right then. So after Day 1 and Day 2, its time for the third and final trip out before we head home. We left our Travelodge this morning, and drove from Kidderminster to Bewdley. After we navigated the atrocious one way system, we arrived on a small car park on Dry Mill Lane
Today was another walk around the Wyre Forest, but in a different location to the first one. We were trying out another walk which was mentioned in the "Butterflies of the West Midlands", and hoping for an easier walk as the one we did on Tuesday was very poorly described!
The route looked to be a much simpler one to follow to be fair...
...from the car park on the right hand side (P), we would follow the path West until the turning point near an old house, then we would head back on the path following the river until we arrived back at the car park... what could go wrong?
With sunscreen applied, and cameras in hand, we set off
There used to be an old railway track going through here, but after the service was closed down and been taken out, it has since been replaced by this smooth gravel path.
Although we started the walk relatively early at 9am, it was already busy with other users... along with the runner pictured, there were several dog walkers, and many cyclists making use of the paths.
Ringlet - Aphantopus hyperantus
First Butterfly of the day!
Dock Bug - Coreus marginatus
Not just here for butterflies though, I also spotted these Dock Bugs too
Oak Gall - unknown species
And then while looking for any other invertebrates, I noticed this strange growth on the underneath of an Oak Tree leaf. While I can confidently tell you that it is a type of Gall, that's as far as my knowledge goes!
Definition from Wikipedia:-
Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues...They can be caused by various parasites, from viruses, fungi and bacteria, to other plants, insects and mites
Source
As far as I understand it, Galls are created by insects as a source of food and/or shelter. For example a Gall Wasp will create a Gall in order to lay eggs in it, so that the larvae has somewhere safe to shelter while it develops into a adult.
As far as ID goes, the closest I can find to this one here, is a Red-Pea Gall, caused by Cynips divisa, but I know this is only an educated guess.
Enough about Galls, time to carry on with the walk to see what else there is...
The first of many sign posts, helping to keep us on the right path... at least this walk will be easier to navigate comapred to the previous forest walk
Gatekeeper - Pyronia tithonus
Butterfly species number 2, seen basking in the sunshine
Hemp-agrimony- Eupatorium cannabinum
Cyclists enjoying the scenic route
To be fair, we were also enjoying the scenic route, just at a much slower pace. Regardless of all the wildlife, it was a lovely place to walk in its own right.
This right-hand bend, heading down a small slope, marked the halfway point as we started to head back towards the car
Ringlet - Aphantopus hyperantus
Hemp-agrimony - Eupatorium cannabinum
Further down the path we came across a large clump of Hemp-agrimony. It is apparently a favorite flower for butterflies to feed on, and that certainly seemed the case as there were plenty of Gatekeepers flying back and forth over the flowers
Gatekeeper - Pyronia tithonus
I counted at least 7 at one point, along with several other Ringlets in between.
Gatekeeper - Pyronia tithonus (view from the top)
Comma - Polygonia c-album
I did also see a Comma (Butterfly species number 3), who paused for a few seconds to feed on the flowers, before he continued on his way
The path changed at this point, from wide and open, to a narrower trail between the trees
Green-veined White - Pieris napi
The dappled light, I spotted a white butterfly feeding on some bramble flowers. To be honest, I had see loads of white butterflies this morning, but as there are 3 very similar looking species, I've not been able to identify any of them until they stop flapping around.
Now that this individual has paused to feed, I can finally take a closer look, and confirm that it is a Green-veined White (Butterfly species number 4)
And then to my astonishment, a large orange butterfly came and started feeding on the flowers, literally within arms reach of where I was stood:
Silver-washed Fritillary - Argynnis paphia
(Butterfly species number 5)
These Fritillaries are strong, fast flyers... we seen many of these all week, most of which have been whizzing past our heads. I did see one on the first day, but he was in rough shape.
Carefully, slowly so as not to scare him off, I learned forwards for a better angle...
Silver-washed Fritillary - Argynnis paphia
Ta-da!
Now there is an image I can be proud off. It is almost as good as my spider picture from Day 1 (although the spider just wins lol)
I checked the time, it was nearly lunchtime, and time for us to head back to the car, as we still had the long drive home... there was still time for one more butterfly to capture...
Red Admiral - Vanessa atalanta
(Butterfly species number 6)
...before we finally made it back to the car
And there we have it. Our 'little' 3 day getaway was at an end, and it was time to head home.
It might seem short and very busy, but I can assure you that these 3 days have been a welcome break from the daily grind at work. Fresh air and sunshine always helps, as does spending some quality time away with my partner. And as a bonus, I also managed to get some pretty cool images too!
Sadly, it's time to gather up my work things, in preparation for returning to work at 8am tomorrow morning (ugh!). But I already have time set aside for out next mini-break, and as thats in the middle of August, it is less than 5 weeks away... I'd better start planning for that I guess!
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