Battlesbury Hill, 25 July 2024

Above: Stand of Rosebay Willowherb © Phillip Delve

Leader Phillip Delve

Battlesbury Hill is a chalk outlier, at the western end of the Salisbury Plain, just east of Warminster. We approached the hill from the bottom, across a meadow, following a path, lined each side with small bushes and umbellifers, including Wild Parsnip and Wild Carrot. Although it was cool, overcast and damp we soon found, on Ragwort, the yellow and black caterpillars of Cinnabar moths.

Beyond this meadow we came across a Red Admiral butterfly, perched on a kissing gate post.
We passed through the kissing gate, a large stand of teasels in flower, and then began our steady progress up the hill path.  A Red Kite and Kestrels flew along the hilltop. Other birds present included Yellowhammer, Chiffchaff, Linnet and Whitethroat. Most of us saw the male Greenfinch singing on top of a Hawthorn Bush. As we climbed, we passed into the mizzle of low cloud.

At the top, we arrived at a second meadow full of late summer flowers. The Butterfly and Common-spotted Orchids of early summer were long gone, but we did find a few Pyramidal Orchids still in flower. Also in flower were: Wild Basil, Self Heal, Red Bartsia, Agrimony, Century, Ox-eye Daisy, Hawkbit, Knapweed and Viper’s-Bugloss. The dried seed heads of Yellow Rattle were evident.

There were also a few House Martins and Swallows here. Given the conditions we were lucky to find a few insects: Red Twin-spot Carpet, Yellow Shell, Six-spot Burnet and  Dusky Sallow moths, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper and Small Skipper butterflies, in spite of wet vegetation,

Alvan White successfully used his sweep net, to find additional insects. Tawny Longhorn Beetle Paracorymbia fulva, Golden-bloomed Longhorn Beetle Agapanthia villosoviridescens, a Cuckoo Bumble Bee sp.  Bombus sp.  and finally the colourful caterpillar of Satyr Pug (Eupithecia satyrata)

As we made our way back towards the huge, iron age, embankments of Battlesbury Camp, we
passed through a scrubby patch and extensive stand of Rosebay willowherb. A couple of Marbled White butterflies flew in the shelter between the camp embankments. Following the embankment path we arrived at the east side of the camp with extensive views over the Salisbury Plain.

From here we crossed the open camp centre, with the odd stand of Woolly Thistle, back towards our downward path. The camp centre was relatively quiet, without the breeding Skylarks and Meadow Pipits of early summer, now all gone.  As we made our way down the path, I hoped to find a Wall Brown butterfly, as seen there the previous day. But not to be.

With all of us back at our cars, I think the walk went well. The flowers were still there, and in spite of cool and cloudy conditions, the ten members present managed to find plenty of interesting  insects. Especially Alvan using his sweep net.

Phillip Delve