Cool July Day

13 July 2012
Another unseasonably cool and overcast day. Despite being not warm enough (>16.2 °C) for butterflies, I made a brief trek to the lower slopes of Mill Hill. Conditions were worse than expected, with a Moderate Breeze Force 5, gusting to Force 7, blowing from the south-west straight on to the exposed slopes. And rain was in the air. I did manage to disturb my first Gatekeeper of the year as well as a single Meadow Brown. A pale Treble-bar Moth was disturbed as well.
Butterfly and Moth List 2012
Adur Butterflies: First Dates




  
After the wettest June on record continuing into July, the lower slopes were looking lusher than usual. The foliage was greener than the normal parched appearance. The leaves of Horseshoe Vetch and Salad Burnet predominated, but the chalkhill vegetation was varied. The flowers of the following were noted as being abundant on the lower slopes: Eyebright, Squinancywort, St. John's Wort, Autumnal Hawkbit, Bird's Foot Trefoil and Wild Thyme. Diminutive Self-heal flowers were particularly common on the lower slopes this year. And there will be more as some were still budding. Wild Basil, Stemless Thistle, Lesser Centaury and Field Scabious were noted in flower for the first time this year on the lower slopes. The green shoots of Carline Thistle was appearing above ground as there were still some of the old grey plants around from last year. Some of the yellow rosettes belonged to one of the Hawkweeds.
On the southern part of the upper part of Mill Hill, the abundant yellow Melilot was framed by the abundant purple Greater Knapweed. Hogweed was noted in passing as the rain spots got heavier, the large plant swaying in the gale force gusts. Meadow Vetchling was noted on the eastern verge of the country road, next to the pastures of New Erringham.