We'll be looking out for the heathland birds and butterflies of the New Forest with Keith Lea, Consultant in woodland management and Vice Chair of Salisbury Natural History Society.

No dogs. Start time at Hale Purlieu 10am. Anticipated end time: 1pm

A mid summer walk in search of heathland butterflies, notably Grayling and Silver Studded Blue, heathland & woodland birds and heathland/bog flora. A moderate 3 mile circular walk within this beautiful part of the New Forest National Park.

Meet at the Nadder Centre for 9 am departure or meet at the National Trust Car   Park, Lady's Mile Rd, Hale Purlieu, SP6 2QZ for 10am start  What3words:///hardback.dices.cactus

Distance, Difficulty and Footwear - Please dress accordingly to the weather and bring water & snacks. Mostly flat walking but uneven.

If you would like to join us please contact us and let us know if you will be meeting us at Nadder Centre to car share or at the starting location.

It's too hot tonight to do this on Wed 15th July. We'll put another post up with the new timing soon.

Further to the blog post on 18th May, this is a reminder that we are taking part again in the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme and we need more volunteers to help us.

Can you give us a hand on on Sat 25th July 2026 (extension to Sun 26th if necessary) when we install the cameras?

We will be taking down cameras on Mon 24th August 2026 (extension to Tues 25th if necessary) and will need help again.

We also need volunteer spotters to identify animals in trail camera footage online.

If you would like to get involved in any of these, please get in touch
via the contact page and we'll pass your message on to Inés. All training provided!

Please join us in ragwort pulling from the Community field, behind the skatepark and Nadder Centre at 6:30pm on Wed 15th July. 

We pull the ragwort in preparation for the field being cut for hay and any cinnabar moth caterpillars will be rescued and put on other ragworts in a non-harvested location.

Bring a picnic and enjoy this summer's activity!

On Sunday 12th July we are off to Dinton Beeches looking for butterflies and other flora and fauna.  We will take a leisurely walk around the tracks and rides of the woods looking for the varied butterfly species which can usually be found there at this time of year.

Meet at Nadder Centre for 11:00am departure or meet on the track on the south side of the Dinton Beeches part of the wood at 11:30am. OS: SU 007 348 What3words: ///grapevine.sulked.lighter

The expected end time is 2.30pm so please bring a picnic and drinks.
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If you would like to join us please contact us and let us know if you will be meeting us at Nadder Centre to car share or at the starting location.

At this time of year, there are many varieties of purple and violet flowers in bloom, and these attract many insects, especially butterflies and bees. This preference appears to be related to the way that they see light. While we see light in the red/green/blue spectrum many insects see it in the blue green and ultraviolet (UV) range. As purple and violet flowers, such as meadow cranesbill and meadow clary, naturally reflect more UV light, they will stand out in a sward, making them easier to spot by the insects.
 
Not only do many plants have flowers of a similar colour, many of those flowers are similarly shaped. Brown, black and greater knapweeds all have slightly spherical flowerheads topped with a purple flower. These are tall, tough plants that can be found in great drifts in rough grassland and on roadside verges. Easily separated from knapweeds by their spines, thistle flowers are nonetheless quite similar. There are many different species of thistle, adapted to different environments and with varied shaped and sized flower heads. Some have large upright flowers, others smaller or drooping ones. But all are recognizable thistle-like, just variations on the classic Scottish thistle flower. Thistles and knapweeds are members of the daisy family, and their flowers are made up of numerous individual florets, so they are known as composites. After flowering, the white or buff coloured seed heads, called the pappus, provide food for small birds, such as Goldfinches. As well as providing a great source of nectar for insects, thistles are the food plant for the Painted Lady. This butterfly can complete its life cycle within 3 to 5 weeks, given the right conditions, and comes to this country as a migrant from the Atlas Mountains. As the butterflies head northwards, successive generations keep the migration going until, during the best years, they may get as far north as Iceland before the final generation heads south again, perhaps using winds at higher altitudes to help them.
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There are good numbers of Painted Ladies around at the moment, so we may be in for a bumper summer. Look out for them on garden buddleia - another purple flower attractive to butterflies. Indeed, many of the garden plants we plant to benefit pollinators – nepeta/catmint, lavender, asters, borage, salvias, alliums – have purple/lilac flowers. But that is just the day flying insects. Moths are more attracted to the flowers that show up in the dark – white and bright yellow – for example, nicotiana and evening primroses. As always, variety is the key, so there are no hard and fast rules about what will attract insects to your garden, but these days many plants and seed packets indicate whether they are pollinator friendly to help guide us.

Andrew Graham