Park Wood, Appledore - 1030hrs - warm, dry, sunny, se - After the Ledbury Nats. had headed out for the day we decided to check out Park Wood for butterflies. During the two hours on site not another person was seen, which is most unusual as it is a popular site with dog walkers. However, woodland butterflies were in short supply as we moved between dappled glades and various sunny clearings across the wood. Speckled Wood and Hedge Brown were the commonest with single figures of Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Large White, Comma, Small Skipper and a Brimstone. I was hoping for a Purple Hairstreak in the oak section of the wood, but no joy, although a smart
White Admiral was seen basking on brambles; attempts at photography with a bridge camera however proved virtually impossible.
Boundary bank Hornbeams
Park Wood, Appledore
Birdwise it was predictably quiet although a few Blackcap and Chiffchaff were still in song, plus a brief burst of Nightingale and Garden Warbler. Noisy broods of Jay, Greater pecker, Long-tailed Tit, Treecreeper and Nuthatch were all present.
On the outskirts of the wood an usual and distinctive tree caught the eye in a paddock. I thought it may have been a Whitebeam, or perhaps more likely a garden exotic, but could not be sure.
Unknown tree, Appledore
Paul ,
ReplyDeleteYour tree is definitely not a Whitebeam , as it's leaves are only silvery white on the underside .
Garden exotic fits the bill much better .
Thanks Greenie, I`m still trawling through tree images on the web to try and find a name, but there are rather a lot of them ...
ReplyDeleteCould be a Maple
ReplyDeleteThink you could be onto something there Derek, just so many of `em...
ReplyDeleteJust had an e-mail from Bill McLay who has kindly identified the tree as Norway Maple, Acer platanoides, a reasonably common ornamental import, of the sub-species, drummondii. Many thanks, one and all.
ReplyDelete