Hello there
My highlight of the past month was a visit to Dartmoor, with the Butterfly Society, to hopefully see some rare butterflies. Dartmoor is a good place to see high brown and dark green fritillaries. 
These are species which I’ve only seen in books! However, we did see quite a few of both on Dartmoor. In fact, we came across two high browns making love! The photographers amongst us couldn’t tear themselves away. What a picture! We didn’t see many birds, which was disappointing.
This is a relatively quiet time for birds. They have gone 
through the breeding season, and are now resting up. The young ones are still about, but in smaller numbers. However, we do still see the greater spotted woodpeckers in the garden, both adult and young birds, feeding on the peanuts. Yesterday, I heard the tell-tale call of the green woodpecker, loud and clear. It’s called a ‘yaffle’ in country places. And, there he was, on Nan’s lawn, looking for ants, which are his favourite food. Green woodies are beautiful birds, with their green, red and yellow colouring.
So far, 2016 has been a poor year for butterflies. The cool, wet, windy weather does not suit them, and the numbers seen have been low. This includes the commoner pretty ones like peacocks, red admirals and tortoiseshells. Still, there’s still time – September is often the best month for them.
Alan Jones 01404 841671
