Worcestershire Wildlife Trust

@worcswt.bsky.social

Keep up to date with the goings on of Worcestershire's wildlife (office hours).

http://worcswildlifetrust.co.uk

@worcswt.bsky.social

A beautiful clouded yellow spotted on some late flowering knapweed at one of our nature reserves last week. It's been a great year for these vibrant butterflies - have you seen one? 💛

Bright lemon-yellow butterfly with black spots and a pale ringed eyespot feeding on a purple flower against a soft-focus green grass background.
@worcswt.bsky.social

That was a tricky one! The answer is betony, a perennial herb fantastic for late pollinators that can be found in grasslands, heathlands, woodland rides and gardens as late as October. 💜

Close-up of a single tall spike of bright pink-purple tubular wildflowers with layered blooms, set against blurred green foliage and a second stalk behind.
@worcswt.bsky.social

What are ewe looking at?! 🐏🌿 Conservation grazing is really important for our meadows. We use a selection of livestock such as sheep, cows and sometimes horses to graze unwanted vigorous grasses which would normally out compete wildflowers if left unmanaged. 💚🌼

A flock of mixed white and black-faced sheep clustered in a sunlit green pasture, many looking toward the camera beneath a wide blue sky with scattered white clouds and a distant tree line.A close-up curious sheep facing the camera in a sunlit green pasture, other sheep grazing blurred in the background
@worcswt.bsky.social

If you've only got a photo like this to work it out from, though, look at the head pattern - on a snipe the stripes go down the head whereas on a woodcock they'd be going across the head.🙂

@worcswt.bsky.social

It's a snipe but we can see why some of you might have thought it was a woodcock - especially as you can't really see the habitat in the photo. Snipe are associated with damp habitats whereas woodcocks, although wading birds, are predominantly associated with woodlands (cont.)

Camouflaged snipe standing in shallow water, probing with its long straight bill among green reeds and reflected ripples while foraging.
@worcswt.bsky.social

The final butterflies of the year are still hanging on 🦋 Tattered wings can tell a story of their long or hard life - they might be old, they might have snagged them on thorns or they might have escaped a bird’s beak. Despite missing parts of their wings, butterflies can still keep on flying. 💛

Yellow butterfly with tattered wing edges resting and feeding on a cluster of small bright pink tubular flowers against a softly blurred garden path and foliage.
@worcswt.bsky.social

Feeling tempted to give your garden a tidy by deadheading some plants? This is your reminder to leave the seedheads for pollinators and birds to enjoy 🌻🐝 🎥 Julie Grainger

Older posts