MILL HILL & the DOWNS

 

 

 WILDLIFE REPORTS 2022

 

 

Grizzled Skipper	Adonis Blue Butterfly	Dingy Skipper	Small Heath Butterfly

Noticeable summer plants of the upper meadows 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
 
 

Horseshoe Vetch	Common Milkwort	Dog Violet	Autumn Gentian

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, Dwarf Thistle, Squinancywort, Fairy Flax, Small Scabious, Common Centaury and Wild Basil. There are other more widespread wild plants like the Mouse-eared Hawkweed, Rough Hawkbit, Lesser Hawkbit, Bird's Foot Trefoil, Ground Ivy, Germander Speedwell, Field Speedwell, Sweet Violet, Self-heal and Yellow Wort.
Wild Flora and Fauna on Chalk   flickr
Adur Wild Flowers 2022

OVERVIEW: A large part (724 acres) of the downs including Mill Hill were presented to the people of Shoreham in 1937.  Lower Slopes of Mill Hill, May 2006  Just over 30 acres still remain as public open land and a Local Nature Reserve.  This is divided into about 11 acres of grassland and meadows above the ridge, about 9 acres of scrub, the copse and glades at the northern end, and about half of the prime Chalkhill Blue area of 6.4 acres of herbland remaining. 6 acres has been lost to a Sycamore woodland on the southern slopes.  This is low fertility chalkland not suitable for grazing. The top area is effectively a wild meadow and the lower slopes a rabbit warren dominated by prostrate (not the upright form) Horseshoe Vetch, Hippocrepis comosa.	MILL HILL HOMEPAGE LOWER SLOPES 2008 MILL NATURE RESERVE & MAP OVERVIEW CITATION GRID REF FINDER Horseshoe Vetch
Chalkhill Blues: Mill Hill is nationally important because of its population of Chalkhill Blue Butterflies. Estimates of the numbers are notoriously inaccurate. In the 1950s the population was estimated by R. M. Craske to be 50,000. This may be an exceptionally good year. I would estimate the numbers at that time to be nearer 25,000 for Mill Hill only. After the cattle grazing and thorn incursions the numbers plummeted to the most reliable estimate in 1960 of 6,000. The new road and Sycamore woodland further denuded the Horseshoe Vetch, Hippocrepis comosa, and bare chalk downland to a figure I have estimated at a top figure of 3,000 Chalkhill Blue Butterflies at the turn of the millennium (counted in 2003). Almost all these butterflies are now to be found on the six acres of the lower slopes. Graham Hart in the 1990s estimated the numbers at 6,000. This is not out of the question and this would accord with the R. M. Craske estimate of 50,000. This would be the maximum population density that could be expected on the carpets of Horseshoe Vetch (based on German figures). Protection of the current population requires man management of the scrub incursions, which means removal of the Privet.  Text by Andy Horton Calcareous Grassland Message
"Our family lived at The Mill House, Mill Hill, from around 1933 until about 1967, and every July we saw the "Butterfly Men" walking past onto the Downs. My father used to tell us that they were interested in the blue butterflies." Heather Clark (née Eager), Ryde, Isle of Wight	Nearest Postcode:  BN43 5FH Grid Ref:  TQ 21170 07444  (upper car park) Geographic Link      OS Map Google Earth Map Magic Map of Mill Hill NR Local Nature Reserve Designation Natural England: Local Nature Reserves Multi-Map (Bird's Eye View) Grid Reference Finder

FEATURE:
 

2003

Threats to the Butterfly Downland site at Mill Hill The butterfly lower slopes at Mill Hill are under serious threat by a natural process known as ecological succession where the woody shrubs like Privet, Brambles and Hawthorn invade the herb-rich slopes gradually turning the downs into woodland and eliminating the butterfly larval food plants especially the Horseshoe Vetch, Hippocrepis comosa, on which the Chalkhill Blue Butterflies rely. The remedy is by expert professional removal of the Privet on a regular basis. This job is now being undertaken by volunteers.

2009

Mill Hill on flickr

Mill Hill on facebook

OS Map                  Footpaths at Mill Hill Map Geograph Satellite     WILDLIFE REPORTS

3 October 2022
Alas, my legs felt weak and I was unable to make more than a cursory visit to the lower slopes of Mill Hill where I spotted a restless Clouded Yellow Butterfly in the poor light of a hazy afternoon. A possible Wall Brown fluttered in front of my eyes but I was unable to be sure. I was sure of a strong flying Red Admiral. I also disturbed a male Common Blue amongst the long grasses at the top part of the hill south of the reservoir. I noted frequent Hawkweed Ox-tongue and my first Devil's Bit Scabious, but I had to turn back for fear of falling.

14 September 2022
Scores of hirundines were spotted flying at low level, at Hawthorn scrub height, from west to east over Mill Hill, in the late afternoon about five o'clock. Over two hundred birds in ten minutes, flew over more rapidly than usual. They flew so quickly I had difficulty recognising them to species in the fading light. Most of them were Swallows and there were almost certainly some House Martins as well. I had never seen so many together before.

Two Spotted Flycatchers were perched on top of some scrub south-west of the top copse, appearing as silhouettes with the sun behind them. It was way past roosting time for butterflies, but I disturbed a few.

7 September 2022

Two young Kestrels windhovered in tandem over a breezy cloudy Mill Hill.

31 August 2022
Two Clouded Yellows fluttered over the upper part of Mill Hill.

24 August 2022
I was glad to see Clouded Yellows on Mill Hill, but I stopped chasing them when a Large Conehead Cricket, Ruspolia nitidula, parachuted down in front of me to pose for photographs. It is a scarce vagrant from southern Europe.

Another visit to the lower slopes was truncated because of my walking disability with at least one each of Chalkhill Blue, Adonis Blue, occasional Common Blues, a restless Clouded Yellow and two definite Small Whites, frequent Meadow Browns and Small Heaths, the latter two mostly at the top of the southern steps.

Scores of butterflies fluttered amongst the long parched grasses south of the Reservoir on the southern part of Mill Hill, mostly Small Heaths were disturbed. but also frequent Meadow Browns. I also followed a male Common Blue which quickly visited a very small yellow plant which was just about familiar but not often encountered, My first thought it was that it was the Meadow Vetchling, Lathyrus pratensis, which is supported by the grasses. It was probably a damaged Melilot.

15 August 2022

8 August 2022
I made a brief visit to the warm 23°C, sunny lower slopes of Mill Hill, where 36 Chalkhill Blues fluttered continually over a quarter acre transect. A female crawled over the Horseshoe Vetch looking to lay her eggs. There were smaller numbers of Gatekeepers, and Meadow Browns, a twice seen Silver-spotted Skipper, and occasional Common Blues, four male second brood Adonis Blues, a restless Clouded Yellow and two Large Whites. A Kestrel hovered over the scrub and blue skies of Mill Hill.

4 August 2022
I made a cursory visit to a breezy lower slopes of Mill Hill, where about fifty restless male Chalkhill Blues fluttered over a quarter acre transect. A female crawled over the Horseshoe Vetch looking to lay her eggs. There were smaller numbers of Gatekeepers, and Meadow Browns, a very clear Silver-spotted Skipper, and occasional Common Blues, a few Speckled Woods and at least one Wall Brown and one Red Admiral. I also spotted two of my first second brood Adonis Blues of 2022,

3 August 2022
A Kestrel hovered over the grey cloudy middle slopes of Mill Hill.
 
 

Only a brief visit was made to the upper part of Mill Hill where there were scores of Common Blues, including mating pairs, frequent Gatekeepers, and Meadow Browns, two Wall Browns one Chalkhill Blue and a Large White. I did not look too hard.

1 August 2022
On what should be the peak period for butterflies on Mill Hill, I recorded a mere 39 male Chalkhill Blues fluttering over a half acre transit of the lower slopes on a sunny humid afternoon, with similar numbers of Gatekeepers, and Meadow Browns, two separate Silver-spotted Skippers, and occasional Common Blues, a few Speckled Woods and White butterflies and at least one Wall Brown.
 
 

29 July 2022
In the energy sapping heat I was not fit enough to make it down to the lower slopes of Mill Hill much past the Holly Tree beyond the southern steps, Nevertheless, butterflies were very frequent and restless in the hazy afternoon sunshine, including frequent Chalkhill Blues, frequent Gatekeepers, occasional Meadow Browns, a few Brimstone Butterflies. a Clouded Yellow, a pair of my first of the year Silver-spotted Skippers, and occasional Common Blues, Speckled Woods and White butterflies all in a space about the size of a suburban garden.
Adur Skippers

23 July 2022

At least two Kestrels hovered and dived over a parched Mill Hill, silhouetted in the northern blue sky on a breezy afternoon. About thirty male Chalkhill Blue Butterflies were restless in the hazy sunshine over the lower slopes. A mating pair blundered into a spider's web and the female Wasp Spider was startlingly quick, subduing the unfortunate female butterfly in a second, before wrapping it up in a silken parcel. The male butterfly escaped.
 
 

Two pristine Wall Brown Butterflies settled on the winding path. There were frequent Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns, a Brimstone Butterfly. a Red Admiral, a fresh second brood Dingy Skipper, and occasional White butterflies and 6-spotted Burnet Moths all in the half acre transit.
Adur Skippers

Hidden amongst the long grasses south of the Reservoir there were frequent male Common Blue Butterflies.
 

20 July 2022 My first of the year Clouded Yellow Butterfly fluttered over the top part of Mill Hill in the sunshine in the late afternoon. 13 July 2022 An almost unprecedented late afternoon summer visit to the top meadow of Mill Hill (north of the upper car park). to catch some roosting butterflies unawares, was worthwhile for variety, although very difficult to photograph them in the long grass. A Ringlet Butterfly hid amongst the brambles. A Brown Argus fluttered in the long grass meadow amongst scores of Marbled Whites. There were a few male Common Blues, Peacocks, Small Heaths, Small Skippers. frequent Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns over the top meadow, one Wall Brown and a handful of Green-veined Whites elsewhere on the top part of the hill dominated by Melilot meadows, Adur Burnet Moths

10 July 2022 A sunny Sunday visit to the lower slopes of Mill Hill produced a handful of the first definite male Chalkhill Blues of the summer. There were about a hundred butterflies of the common species in the transect acre, mostly Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns. Also: Brimstones. Large Whites, Small Skippers,  a Small Heath, a Peacock, a Red Admiral, a Speckled Wood and a fresh male Common Blue. A first of the year Burnet Moth flew by.   5 July 2022 The first of the year of forty plus fresh Gatekeeper Butterflies were seen on the southern steps and lower slopes of Mill Hill on a cloudy afternoon.

22 June 2022
 

Dark Green Fritillary	Meadow Brown

21 June 2022
A large bird of prey cruised leisurely in a low level flight over the New Erringham pastures adjacent to the southern part of Mill Hill. Unfortunately, it almost immediately disappeared from sight because of a small undulation of the down. A few minutes later I saw it again as the bird reversed its direction of flight to flying west, parallel with the A27 and again out of sight. This time I was able to recognise it as a Red Kite from its definite forked tail.

The bright orange butterfly spotted yesterday was spotted again, but it flew away so quickly from the meadow south of the Reservoir, I was again unable to get a clear view of it. It was much larger than the usual suspects and was most likely to have been a Dark Green Fritillary.  A Cinnabar Moth was seen amongst the long grasses in the afternoon, with restless Marbled White Butterflies and Meadow Browns.
Previous Report of a Dark Green Fritillary 2014

20 June 2022
Over fifty very fresh Marbled White Butterflies fluttered around over the lower slopes of Mill Hill in the bright afternoon sunshine, They were accompanied by frequent Red Admirals and Meadow Browns, occasional Holly Blues, Large Whites, Small Skippers, and Small Heaths. an unconfirmed bright orange butterfly and a probable Brown Argus. The trip was truncated because of my poor health in about what amounted a cursory visit through a path overgrown by Stinging Nettles.

15 June 2022
My first Meadow Brown Butterflies and first Small Skipper of the year were disturbed in the area of Mill Hill south of the covered reservoir in the afternoon sunshine.
Grasses

6 June 2022

A dozen fresh male Common Blue Butterflies flew over the grassy area of Mill Hill south of the covered reservoir in unfavourable breezy conditions. Knapweed Broomrape frequently appeared in contrasting brown amongst the green.

3 June 2022

Two Cinnabar Moths fluttered over the hedge-lined Mill Hill Road north of the bridge over the A27 dual carriageway.
Adur Moths

17 May 2022

In the afternoon sunshine, the swathes of Horseshoe Vetch, Hippocrepis comosa, on the lower slopes of Mill Hill were about their peak profusion. About fifty (partially counted) male Adonis Blue Butterflies fluttered around restlessly, with just the one possible female. Alas my physical health was limiting on the steep slopes and  I could only add a few Brimstones, a dozen male Common Blues, a Small Heath, a Large White, one Dingy Skipper and my first of the year Brown Argus.

9 May 2022

A dozen male Adonis Blue Butterflies visited the abundant newly flowering Horseshoe Vetch, Hippocrepis comosa, on the lower slopes of Mill Hill in the early afternoon. These were the first of the year for me as was a single spotting of a Small Heath. Other butterflies seen were 5+ Grizzled Skippers, 10+ Dingy Skippers, one male Common Blue, frequent Brimstones, one fresh Red Admiral and one Speckled Wood by the southern steps, plus a few unidentified whites.
 
 

A large patch of scores of budding Hound's Tongue was noted on some scrub cleared land on the steeper slopes of Mill Hill above the path. The Horseshoe Vetch swathes were still over a week from their peak, but they still look diminished below the path every year. A new to Mill Hill Cichorioid Daisy was discovered. It looked like a Beaked Hawksbeard. The hairiness of this plant could mean it is the first local record of the Rough Hawksbeard, Crepis biennis.
Subsequent observations point to Beaked Hawksbeard Crepis vesicaria.  This latter plant is frequently seen on Shoreham Beach.
 

5 May 2022

My first Wall Brown Butterfly of the year fluttered around the long grass south of the Reservoir on the top part of Mill Hill with occasional Brimstone Butterflies. On the middle slopes, I heard plenty of varied bird song emanating from inside the scrub. The repertoire of the Chiff-chaff was recognised. Cowslips were flowering but they were not seen amongst the rabbit burrows where they were common in previous years.
Adur Butterflies 2022
 
 
 

Grizzled Skipper

26 April 2022 Clambering around the lower slopes of Mill Hill was close to becoming physically impossible for me even in dry weather. Butterflies were frequently seen in the intermittent afternoon sunshine: a few Brimstones, two Small Tortoiseshells, one Peacock, a few Green-veined Whites, occasional first of the year Grizzled Skippers, a handful of Dingy Skippers, and lastly a few pristine male Common Blues for the first time this year. Another butterfly watcher reported a Green Hairstreak. Eight species Adur Skippers   A dozen Rooks dominated the blue sky. Chiff-chaffs called from the bushes. The Blackthorn blossom had blown away but the first Hawthorn was in flower on the straggly hedge at the bottom of the lower slopes.

18 April 2022
A walk around Mill Hill this morning, north along the lower path and back south along the upper path. The highlight was a male Ring Ouzel seen flying briefly around the slope before disappearing into scrub. Also a Lesser Whitethroat singing loudly from the top of a bush along the lower path and a Common Whitethroat further along. Yellowhammers, Goldfinches, Linnets and Dunnock also on the slope. A Red Kite drifted over but was harassed by a Crow.
No butterflies but did see two very dark Adders basking on a pile of cut grass.

17 April 2022
 

Dingy Skipper	Dog Violets

There were precious few flowers on the lower slopes of Mill Hill for a handful of Peacock Butterflies and two Dingy Skippers on an Easter Sunday afternoon. I spotted the first small Horseshoe Vetch, Hippocrepis comosa, flower.
Adur Butterflies 2022
Adur Skippers

13 April 2022

11 April 2022

12 April 2022 A White-tailed Eagle was forced to land in my Truleigh Hill garden by gulls and corvids harrying it. Report by Terry Goble on Shoreham Birding     11 April 2022 On a cloudy day with an easterly breeze, a smattering of Dog Violets flowered on the sheltered lower slopes of Mill Hill. The first Milkwort was spotted. Blackthorn was starting to flower. An invisible bird warbled from inside the mostly bare thorny bush on the southern top part of Mill Hill Nature Reserve. The tinkling song was most likely that of a Willow Warbler. Or was it a Whitethroat?  Adur Violets

25 March 2022 A Robin called stridently from the top of a prominent bush on the middle slopes of Mill Hill, and his potential partner replied from a hidden location amongst the scrub. In difficult viewing conditions another small bird replaced the Robin in the same small tree and this was an immigrant Chiff-chaff. A few white flowers on thorn bushes were the slow start of the Blackthorn, the green leaves on the bushes were the Hawthorn.

23 March 2022

On my first visit to the lower slopes of Mill Hill in 2022, Peacock Butterflies were sparring with a Small Tortoiseshell, and Sweet Violets were sparsely scattered mostly on the steeper slopes above the winding path. By the southern steps, the first Blackthorn flowers had just appeared.
Adur Violets
Adur Alexanders

19 March 2022
It was breezy on the top of Mill Hill, where a Peacock Butterfly was blown about in a Force 5 easterly gusting to Gale Force 7.

14 March 2022

Mill Hill Wildlife Reports 2021 (Link)

Bye-laws

Mill Hill Wildlife Reports 2018 (Link)

Mill Hill Wildlife Reports 2016 (Link)
Mill Hill Wildlife Reports 2015 (Link)
Mill Hill Wildlife Reports 2014 (Link)
Mill Hill Wildlife Reports 2013 (Link)
Mill Hill Wildlife Reports 2012 (Link)
Mill Hill Wildlife Reports 2011 (Link)

Mill Hill Nature Reserve on facebook

Identification of Grasses (Link)
Mill Hill Grasses
 

A Nature Reserve is defined in Section 15 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, as land managed for the purpose: (a) of providing, under suitable conditions and control, special opportunities for the study of, and research into, matters relating to the flora and fauna of Great Britain and the physical conditions in which they live, and for the study of geological and physiographical features of special interest in the area; or (b) of preserving flora, fauna, or geological or physiographical features of special interest in the area; or for both these purposes.’

The other species may breed on Mill Hill, but there main breeding area will be adjoining fields or slightly further away. e.g. Small Blue (included above), Small Copper, Small Tortoiseshell, Green-veined White, Peacock, Ringlet, Small White, Large White, Comma, Holly Blue, Orange Tip. (=10). There are huge variances each year for most species.

The following are immigrants &/or hibernators:  Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Clouded Yellow.

The following have not been positively identified (because of ID difficulties):  Essex Skipper. This species is now included for a local field on the Adur Levels within 500 metres of Mill Hill.

(=30)

The following was confirmed only in 2009: Green Hairstreak.
(=31)

The following was confirmed only in 2014: Dark Green Fritillary
(=32)

The next one is no longer found on Mill Hill but were there in the distant (1947) past: Grayling.
The next one has been recorded near Mill Hill in the middle distance past:  White-letter Hairstreak

(=34)

The Silver-spotted Skipper does not appear to ever have occurred on Mill Hill
The Silver-studded Blue has never been recorded from Mill Hill

The Short-tailed Blue was recorded as a single immigrant in 1956.

17 August 2009
A possible (unconfirmed) Brown Hairstreak Butterfly was spotted. A confirmed one was spotted nearby.

2017
Brown Hairstreak and Silver-spotted Skipper have been confirmed from Mill Hill. The first is notoriously difficult to spot and was probably already there. The skipper may be a new addition, but it is small and not easy to spot, and there have now been numerous sightings

Adur Butterfly Page

History of Mill Hill

Aerial Map
Lower Adur Levels (MultiMap) including Lancing Clump and Mill Hill