Adur Valley Levels:   Images

19 July 2003
Chalkhill Blue Butterflies on the Waterworks Road, Old Shoreham numbered at least five and they could be seen immediately, on the margins amongst the ferns, just north of where the road passed under the A27 Flyover. A male Emperor Dragonfly was on patrol.
 
Chalkhill Blue on the Waterworks Road (Photograph by Andy Horton)

There is a distance of 700 metres from the breeding areas of the Chalkhill Blue with a full grown Sycamore, Hawthorn and Ash wood in the intervening space. The butterflies flew against a breeze from the south.
 


Cuckoo Flower (Photograph by Andy Horton)
22 April 2003
Milkmaid, Lady’s Smock or Cuckoo Flower, Cardamine pratensis, traditionally flowers as the Cuckoos arrive. The Milkmaid thrives in damp meadow land, particularly cattle pasture; unfortunately as this habitat is “improved” out of existence this beautiful flower is decreasing throughout the country. There were several clumps of this plant bordering the streams near Botolphs.

It is unclear about the colours in these photographs. The first two photographs may be overexposed. 

Message by Natasha de Chroustchoff on UK Botany about the common names for this plant (Link)
 

 

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