Going to the Wall?

Apologies (not) for the punny title but it feels sadly apt.

A week or so ago I saw an ’orangey’ butterfly flitting around but I lost it before I could positively identify it. I eventually found it (or one similar) in the same area yesterday.

I was pleased to get a positive identification and a photo (of sorts). It was a Wall Brown.

I was however saddened to see that the Wall (as it is also known) is now officially classed as ’endangered’ in this country (see https://butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blog/half-of-british-butterfly-species-on-new-red-list).

The other surprise yesterday was the ‘discovery’ of a fledgeling sand martin colony (apologies for the pun once again [not]). I had seen sand martins buzzing about but hadn’t had the time to see if they were Cluster residents. It seems they are.

As you can see, they are using a bit of the bank which isn’t very tall and is vulnerable to flooding. Fingers crossed that they will manage to breed successfully. I will be keeping a discrete eye on them.

And to finish, we hope to be announcing some summer volunteer days shortly. If you would be interested in helping out or just want see what we are up to, please ‘subscribe’ to our website and/or use our contact page to get in touch.

MWW