Itchen Navigation Flower Meadow

As we left the car park along the bank of the pretty Itchen Navigation with views of St. Cross Hospital across the fields, we saw a little grebe diving, mallards and a moorhen with two chicks as a chiff chaff sang in the trees and pond skaters darted about on the water. 

As we approached the bottom of St Catherine's Hill, we stopped for a while and admired a beautiful area of meadow full of wild flowers including pyramidal and heath spotted orchids, scabious, ox-eye daisies, lady's bedstraw, dropwort and knapweed. 

We also saw an unidentified blue, meadow browns and marbled white butterflies and an orange tailed bumblebee.  A few members also caught a glimpse of a bank vole as it ran across the path near to where we were standing. 

Flowers seen as we ventured on included St. John's wort, hedge woundwort, vetch, toadflax, wild carrot, red poppies, goatsbeard and agrimony and we heard the beautiful song of a thrush and comma, skipper and red admiral butterflies. As we walked along the banks of the river we were amazed at the amount of banded demoiselles that were flying. 

Comma Butterfly Peacock butterfly caterpillars

They were the whole way along this stretch of the river and made a fantastic sight as the sun rays caught their bright metallic green/blue bodies.

We also found lots of peacock butterfly caterpillars on nettles, a few day flying scarlet tiger moths and more skipper butterflies, as a cetti's warbler gave a loud and powerful call as we approached his tree. Sedge warblers and whitethroats were seen and heard and we found more flowers including comfrey, figwort, common valerian and monkey flower.

We walked along the side of the restored Twyford Mead Water Meadows and found our way into the grounds of Twyford Church were we had lunch in the shade of a couple of yew trees. 

After lunch we continued our walk seeing a buzzard flying high and we took a footpath that led us up onto the downs passing the Hawkley Golf Course and from here we enjoyed the stunning views out across the fields and towards Winchester from this high vantage point. 

We eventually arrived back where the motorway cuts through the down and we walked over a footbridge that led us straight into the St. Catherine's Hill Nature Reserve. We walked around the bottom of the hill and then back along the Itchen Navigation where we stopped for a while and watched a little grebe diving for fish before arriving back at the car park after a thoroughly enjoyable days walking and we were lucky that the rain held off too! 

Little Grebe Scarlet Tiger Moth

At the Society's indoor meeting on Monday 25th June, Paul Toynton gave an informative illustrated talk about Wildlife Gardening. 

He suggested ways we can all help wildlife in our gardens and allotments by providing food and shelter and planting flowers to encourage butterflies like cranesbill, hollyhocks, red valerian and campanulas. 

Ponds are also a good addition to a garden and a great habitat for wildlife, as are log piles that can attract lizards and stag beetles. Paul's many ideas gave us all inspiration to try and make our own gardens a little more wildlife friendly.  

The Waterside Natural History Society's next outdoor meeting will be on Sunday 15th July with a visit to Tennyson Down [IOW] to look for birds, butterflies, dragonflies and flowers.  Meet at Oak Road Car Park, Dibden Purlieu for a 09.00am start (strong footwear recommended.)  Visitors very welcome.