Common Blue
Tucked away in the far north-eastern corner of the Tophill quarries is Waycroft, an area of old quarry workings between Kingbarrow and Admiralty Quarries. It includes a set of Victorian gun emplacements that are rarely seen as the area has always been private, mostly used for horse-grazing. Today we were lucky enough to have the chance to look around this very special area and we took the opportunity to survey the incredible diversity of plants found there.
We found most of the same species that were on the nearby Fancy’s Farm last week, plus a few more including some shrub species that hadn’t received the attentions (yet!) of the goats from Fancy’s Farm. Pyramid Orchids were here again but we were particularly pleased to see a good showing of Bee Orchids – at least 50 of them!
A few more butterflies were out this week including some really smart Common Blues. My personal favourite sighting of the day was a Yellowhammer, as this is now the only part of the island where these lovely birds still breed.
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Bob Ford has lived and worked all his life in Weymouth & Portland apart from the 3 years at university where he studied Marine Biology & Earth Sciences. Bob has spent many years teaching biology at local schools and colleges and is currently the Open University's Biodiversity Mentor for the south of England. Bob leads a weekly walk on Portland every Friday from the Heights Hotel and is a keen wildlife photographer.
