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Other
indicators on the lower slopes include Dropwort,
Autumn
Ladies Tresses (upper plateau), Hairy
Violet,
all
of which are rarely found on pastures, restored wildlife meadows or agricultural
downland. Other downland plants that are more likely on the biodiverse
down herbland are Wild Thyme,
Carline
Thistle, Stemless Thistle, Squinancywort,
Fairy
Flax, Small Scabious,
Common
Centaury and
Wild
Basil. There are other more widespread
wild plants like the Mouse-eared Hawkweed,
Rough Hawkbits, Autumnal Hawkbit, Creeping Cinquefoil, Bird's Foot Trefoil,
Ground
Ivy, Germander
Speedwell, Field Speedwell, Scarlet Pimpernel,
Sweet
Violet,
Self-heal
and Yellow Wort
as well as many others.
Noticeable
summer plants of the upper meadows of Mill
Hill include Greater Knapweed, Hardheads
(=Lesser Knapweed),
Field
Scabious, Meadow Cranesbill, Alexanders,
Pyramidal
Orchids,
Plantains,
Melilots,
Meadow Vetchling, Yarrow,
Eyebrights,
Musk
Thistles,
Hounds-tongue*,
Perforate
St. John's Wort*, Great Mullein*
and many others. Herb Robert
is found amongst the scrub.
(*notably
on disturbed ground.)
Some
Indicator Plants of Ancient Downland (Link)
Wild
Flora and Fauna on Chalk flickr
Wild
Flowers 2008
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13
July 2008
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11
July 2008
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Five
species of thistle
were recorded on Mill Hill including the first Stemless
Thistle of the year on the lower
slopes of Mill Hill, as well as Spear
Thistle, Welted Thistle, the impressive
Musk
Thistle and the ubiquitous Creeping
Thistle. The first flowers of Clematis
also appeared on Mill Hill. Lady's Bedstraw
was also noted in flower.
Adur
Thistles
Hawkbits
were very common on the lower slopes of
Mill
Hill, and these are both Autumnal Hawkbit
and Rough Hawkbit
were noted for the first time this year.
Adur
Hawkbits
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5 July
2008
Marjoram
was seen in flower in the Triangle middle
slopes area of Mill Hill and this was the
first for this year and the first time I noted this plant on Mill Hill.
22
June 2008
Welted
Thistle, Musk
Thistle and the ubiquitous Creeping
Thistle were all noted. Squinancywort
was seen in flower for the first time
this year on the lower slopes.
Full
Butterfly Report
19
June 2008
Mill
Hill recorded Agrimony,
Musk
Thistle,
Perforate
St. John's Wort, one Field
Scabious and Common
Centaury were all recorded in flower
for the first time this year. White Campion
was noted as common beside the paths through the scrub in large clumps.
On the middle slopes, in the Triangle area,
Bird's
Foot Trefoil was flowering in swathes
but not in as large swathes as previous years.
8 June
2008
Common
Blue Butterflies (30+) were mating in the
thin strip of intermittent horse pasture to the east of Mill Hill. There
were at least three Small Heath Butterflies
seen on the edge of the swathes of Bird's
Foot Trefoil.
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1
June 2008
When
the yellow carpet of Horseshoe Vetch,
Hippocrepis
comosa, was seen to be rapidly fading
on the lower slopes of Mill
Hill, the thin strip of intermittent horse pasture to the east of Mill
Hill, adjacent and parallel to the A27 dual
carriageway on the northern side, was covered
in swathes of Bird's Foot Trefoil covering
a measured 1.5 acres.
Most other flowering herbs were lost amongst the yellow but they included
sparse amounts of
Cut-leaved Cranesbill,
Cleavers,Fairy
Flax, Eyebright, Scarlet Pimpernel
(mostly
on the periphery), White Clover,
Ground
Ivy and
Field
Speedwell.
The
adjacent cattle pasture was devoid of these herbs.
A
single Welted Thistle
flower had opened in the scrub in the north-west
of Mill Hill. A large patch of Silverweed
with at least fifty flowers was noted immediately to the west of the Reservoir
adjacent to the well trodden path winding between the blossoming Elderberry,
and the Hawthorn
that had ceased flowering. The scrub had
been cleared in places and patches of Stinging Nettles had appeared
next to the path.
19
May 2008
Elderberry
was beginning to flower on Mill Hill. On
the plateau south of the upper car park, the Horseshoe
Vetch,
Hippocrepis
comosa, was much less than previous
years, but a patch still occurred at the southern end, just north of the
Revervoir. White Campion
was noticed in flower on the edge of the scrub on the upper parts of the
hill.
14
May 2008
A
late afternoon visit to Mill Hill was undertaken for the purpose of ascertaining
the extent of the covering of Horseshoe
Vetch,
Hippocrepis
comosa, which could be seen from Old
Shoreham by the Toll Bridge. It was
at least as spectacular as the best year, but a close inspection revealed
that a proportion (c 5%) of the flowers were already fading on the lower
slopes. The Horseshoe Vetch
was rather sparse on the middle and upper slopes. It is usually later in
these areas, but it still appeared much less than expected. At least
one Bird's Foot Trefoil
was seen. Other flowers noted were the poisonous White
Bryony,
Bryonia
dioica, mostly were the conservation workers had been on Mill Hill,
and the first sign of flowering Hound's
Tongue, Cynoglossum
officinale, notably near the Rabbit
burrows. The invasive Ground Elder, Aegopodium
podagraria, was noted on the upper
part of the hill.
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6 May
2008
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Horseshoe Vetch, Hippocrepis comosa,was much more prominent on the lower slopes of Mill Hill and could be seen covering the lower slopes before I descended the steps at the southern end. Dog Violets were very common and Milkwort was all over the slopes.
6 April
2008
A
surprise
April
snowfall
throughout
the morning (9:00 pm to 12:30 pm)
left snow to a depth of 100+ mm
on Mill Hill, drifting to much deeper in places. Ground Ivy
was seen in flower under the Hawthorn in the north-west
scrub.
9 March 2008
Early growths of Dogwood on the Triangle meadow area on the middle slopes section of Mill Hill, west of the upper car park. Old Erringham Farm is in the background.
27
February 2008
Frequent
Sweet
Violets were now to be seen flowering
on the lower slopes and under the thorn
in the scrub in the north-west corner of
Mill Hill. The cattle now
appear to have been removed, but the hoof prints and dung
were still widespread, and some were fresh.
Adur
Violets
10
February 2008
A
handful of Sweet Violets
were in flower at the top of the wooded slopes on the southern section
of Mill Hill.
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Hoof
prints caused by the cattle damaging the flora of Mill Hill.
The cattle break up the integral turf flora allowing coarse grass seeds, ruderal common wayside plants and scrub seeds to settle and be buried and seed, gradually and quickly displacing the natural chalkhill grasses and herbs. |
In perspective, the turf is also broken up by human trampling (as evidenced by the paths) and the burrowing of Rabbits and Moles. The cattle damage is so much more serious because it is unnecessary and the ground is fertilised as well. This fertilisation has a destructive effect on chalkhill flora, allowing common plants to flourish in the richer disturbed conditions. Sheep also cause damage in wet weather but the because of their lighter build if they are stocked at a density of up to one sheep per acre, damage to the chalkhill is acceptable.
The cattle were still trashing the upper plateau area around the car park.
28
January 2008
The
cattle
were now seen from the Adur Levels on
the richer floristic middle zone of Mill Hill, where they will do more
damage.
In
business farming terms, butterfly food plants are weeds to be eradicated.
22
January 2008
The
cattle
were still on Mill Hill dumping their excrement all over the long grass
south of the Reservoir, but also on the recovering herb-rich plateau north
of the Reservoir. Cattle
cause great damage by disturbance of the soil and nutrification with their
urine and faeces. Both these factors change the flora for a long time and
encourage grasses and ruderal plants. A dog
was seen in panic in the presence of the cattle.
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A
commercial breed of beef cattle grazing the southern part of Mill Hill.
This area of rough grassland has already been extensively disturbed and the damage the cattle will do will be minimal. However, they confer no advantages and are nuisance to visitors and road traffic. |
4 January
2008
Alas
the cattle
are still trashing the top of Mill Hill in an asinine plan by the Sussex
Downs Conservation Board on an important Nature
Reserve. The flat area being grazed (seen from the Adur Levels) is
an area that contains a recovering low fertility wildlife
meadow flora including Horseshoe Vetch, Hippocrepis
comosa, and many other important caterpillar food plants and nectar
plants. The cattle indiscriminately eat the
flora, but more importantly the destruction occurs because of the ground
disturbance they cause and their patterns of urination and cow pats which
are making the paths impassable on shallow chalk soil in wet muddy conditions.
Chalkhill
herbs require low fertility undisturbed land
and are wiped out (most of them permanently) if the conditions change.
List
of Butterfly Articles
Mill
Hill Wildlife Reports 2007 (Link)
Horseshoe
Vetch,
Hippocrepis comosa
First
Draft of the Article for the Shoreham Society Newsletter
