Lynchcombe in August
The height of summer on the south facing slopes of Mendip Hills in Somerset. On the Somerset Wildlife Trust nature reserve at Lynchcombe the musk thistles are still doing well so are the small butterflies.
In the sky the buzzards that nested earlier in the combe fly in a bright blue sky.
In the trees there are already lots of sloe berries.
The grass is not so green but where the soil is thin the harebells add a splash of colour.
In the grass are lots of butterflies.
In a special corner the wild marjoram has done really well. It attracts many small butterflies such as this common blue.
I wish brown argus butterflies did not look so much like common blues.
I have counted over three hundred meadow brown butterflies on a single walk around the reserve. In August the numbers are starting to drop.
But the latest batch of small coppers are enjoying the marjoram in large numbers.
Most of the large butterflies are higher up the hill amongst the thistles.
The painted ladies are having another good season.
They enjoy resting on the exposed limestone that has warmed up in the sun.
And Finally…
The gatekeepers are having their best year I have seen on the reserve. This patch of brambles had 23 butterflies, and some had clearly been around for a while.