Photos from a walk in Deep Hayes Country Park today

Part of a cattle-grazed pasture with plenty of flowering Betony (by Wendy Birks). 

A Nettle-leaved Bellflower that has survived the pathside strimming (not very sharp due to breeze!). 

From "The Flora of Staffordshire by John E. Hawksford and Ian J. Hopkins" under the heading of Nettle-leaved Bellflower. "....Staffordshire lies at the north of the native range of this species in Britain. Appreciably less frequent now in its traditional situations than suggested by earlier botanists, but such losses have been more than balanced by an increasing number of reports of this species growing as an introduction or escape from cultivation in a variety of habitats including roadsides and waste ground". I found only this single plant growing in Deep Hayes Country Park, though maybe there are more growing in places I did not look.

A Shaded Broad-bar Moth (by Wendy Birks). Which is a common species that is generally a night-time flyer though sometimes seen during the day if disturbed. This one was in the pasture where I assume it fed on legumes, such as Bird's-foot trefoil when it was a larva. 

Another sighting of a Red Kite.

Here is a photo of a (probably) moulting Red Kite flying over Alton today.

First ever "official" sighting of a Silver-washed Fritillary in the Churnet Valley.

Here is a photo of a male Silver-washed Fritillary feeding on bramble in Dimmingsdale 20/07/14. The photo was taken by Terry Eyre on his own nature reserve. 

Apparently, according to the Staffordshire Invertebrate Group (see https://www.facebook.com/groups/staffsinverts/?fref=ts), this is the first ever record of a Silver-washed Fritillary in the Churnet Valley, so well done Terry! 

Silver-washed Fritillary is the largest British fritillary species. They are a woodland species where the adults may be seen feeding and, if you are lucky, mating and laying eggs. The adults feed on bramble nectar and aphid honeydew, which they find in the treetops. The female lays her eggs in woodland clearings which contain violet plants, as this is the food plant of the Silver-washed Fritillary caterpillars.

Here is a photo of a male Silver-washed Fritillary feeding on bramble in Dimmingsdale 20/07/14. Do they actually breed here I wonder?

Some birds and fungi photographed in the Churnet Valley June 2014.

Curlew pair Noonsun Common June 2014 by Andy Cope.

Willow Warbler Noonsun Common June 2014 by Andy Cope.

Hoof Bracket Fungus at Coltsone June 2014 by Andy Cope.

Common Whitethroat at Noonsun Common June 2014 by Andy Cope.

Evening mist over the Churnet Valley

Photo by Terry Eyre