R and I decided to take our Sunday walk at Compton Verney today. There was no sign of the Great Crested Grebes, sadly, suggesting that their nesting attempt may have failed, but there were plenty of other things for us to admire.
The conservation team at the estate has established a broad strip of long grass and mixed wild flowers along the eastern edge of the woodland and upper lake, and there were literally hundreds of butterflies, bees and hoverflies swarming all over it. The butterfly species we noticed included Small Blue (numbering in scores, which is extremely unusual in my recent experience), Brown Argus, Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Small Copper, and Painted Lady, as well as a large number of assorted Whites, and I can honestly say that this is one of the best butterfly conservation initiatives I’ve seen anywhere in a very long time. Huge congratulations are due to the Compton Verney team for proving once again that if you build it, they will come.
I have photos of butterflies – because of course I do – but somehow I couldn’t resist posting this unfortunate insect – which I think may actually have been a large moth (suggestions as to its identity on a postcard, please, to the usual address), in the jaws of a Black-tailed Skimmer. I couldn’t get to a better angle than this without risking falling down a steep bank – I was leaning quite perilously as it was – and because of that, and the ugly perch the dragon had chosen, I’m not thrilled with the image. But there was something gruesomely fascinating to me about watching a dragonfly eating something so big, and so very, very hairy. It made my mouth and throat feel quite itchy in sympathy.
After enjoying a good long walk, with plenty of invertebrate interest, and some excellent coffee and cake, we capped the afternoon by taking our first ever trip across the lower lake on the rope ferry. This is a small platform with safety rails which travels back and forth between two landing jetties, pulled by its passengers, and is clearly designed to appeal to boys of all ages. I thought I detected a certain amount of unspoken competition between R and one of the other men on board about who was going to work the ropes, but happily they managed to split the job between them with no unseemly incidents.
R: L2, C10, D66.
