Westbury Beacon
Westbury Beacon – Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID JB_7523H
Westbury Beacon
This is a small patch of grassland on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills in Somerset. That would be good enough to warrant a visit, but what makes it even better is that it is a butterfly reserve and one of the few places on the Mendips where chalk-hill blues fly.
Westbury Beacon – Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID JB_7542
It has not always been a nature reserve. On the reserve are huts and rusting machinery left behind from some of its previous roles. It has views that stretch 50 miles across the Somerset Levels.
Westbury Beacon – Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID JB_7050
I was hoping to see butterflies in the sky. But as I arrived there was a red kite floating above the reserve. A few years ago kites were not seen on Mendip. Today I see them regularly, and have spotted four together on the ground not far from Wells.
Red Kite (Milvus milvus) – Westbury Beacon, Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID JB_5423
It was not chalk-hill blues that I found but surprisingly it was marbled whites. It is really late in the season to see these.
Marbled White (Melanargia galathea) – Westbury Beacon, Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID JB_5578
Unsurprisingly, common blues were common across the reserve.
Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) – Lynchcombe, Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID JB_7066
I also found a small copper, resting on some very dry grass.
Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) – Westbury Beacon, Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID JB_7104
