My nearest part of the heathland is vibrant with life today as the warm sun bathed the dry heather in a warm glow.Seven grass snakes basked on the moss and drab coloured sand lizards emerged .A young roe buck grazed the ling.Many young bucks are still in velvet whilst many old bucks are now free and clean. Nearby a male Dartford warbler scolded for fear of its nest being disturbed.
The warblers suffered badly during the winter last year but this mild one seemed to save them and now I see the half the normal levels in prime heathland habitats.
Unfortunately much heathland management by the conservation bodies actually is detrimental to the very existence of this species, as heather and gorse is cut too low for them to sing from. There must be a variety of all sizes of gorse to suit all animals.
One of our most beautiful insects surely must be the little ruby tailed wasp(chrisis ignita).They are parasitic on solitary mason bees and can be seen mainly around old wooden fences or logs or walls. They are very lively in the warm sun and are very difficult to photograph when active.
A quick look into some calcareous woodland slopes yielded this magnificent plant, the herb Paris(Paris quadrifolia), is now a rare plant.where it occurs, it usually grows in carpets across the woodland floor along with dogs mercury.
