Peacock butterfly on Lady Haugh meadow

Speckled Wood butterfly basking in the sun

Our volunteer butterfly surveyors had good results from today's transect.  The sunny afternoon brought out peacocks, speckled woods, meadow browns and small coppers. 

The other rangers spent the day cutting wildflower meadows, now that the flowers have dropped their seeds.  Over the next few days we will rake off the cuttings, so they don't rot down and improve the soil.  This helps to maintain the right soil conditions for the wildflowers to grow successfully again next year.

Our wildflower meadows support a huge variety of insects, providing food for many birds and mammals, including bats.  It's important for us to manage the meadows to encourage the wildflowers, to maintain the foodchain and the biodiversity in the area.