Wildflowers on a nature walk A week after counting Moon Carrots on Seaford Head I was back up there with Seaford Natural History Society on a nature walk lead by Sussex Wildlife Trust. As for the last few posts, I have marked any chalk grassland indicator species with an L. I didn’t photograph last weeks…
Tag: South Downs
Flora of Seaford Head in August Part 1 – Hope Gap
Wildflowers of Hope Gap After counting Moon Carrots on Seaford Head Nature Reserve in Sussex, I kept my phone at the ready for photography and walked home slowly. This post is in two parts because I took so many photos! This part will be about Hope Bottom and the area around Hope Gap where we…
Counting Moon Carrot on Seaford Head in August
Seseli libanotis is a rare UK wildflower Seaford Natural History Society counts wild plants of Moon Carrot every year to monitor numbers. Being a clifftop plant, coastal erosion means that the whole colony is in danger of failure in a single rock fall. Moon carrot grows on our chalk cliffs The plant is found right near…
Chalk grassland survey Crowlink and Gayles Farm July Part 4
Thistle plants and more Hairy Mallow This was my last day with Chris and Colin counting wildflowers on National Trust land above the Seven Sisters cliffs in the South Downs National Park in Sussex. Counting wildflowers on the South Downs We found many flowers from the species list mentioned in Part 1 but they’re not…
Chalk grassland survey Crowlink and Gayles Farm July Part 3
More chalk grassland indicator species We returned to Gayles Farm the following week to survey another field or two. I should say that the survey methods and recording were all carefully adhered to, and were ably undertaken by Chris and Colin, I was just along to speed up the spotting! The main photo above shows…
Chalk grassland survey Crowlink and Gayles Farm July Part 2
Chalk grassland indicator species in South Downs National Park Three days after visiting Crowlink, a smaller group of us found ourselves nearby at Gayles Farm. This time it was just myself, Chris (experienced amateur botanist) and Colin who was recording. It was a lovely sunny morning and the views were fab. The main image is…
Chalk grassland survey Crowlink and Gayles Farm July Part 1
Chalk grassland surveys I spent some very pleasant mornings in July counting wildflowers on the South Downs with some like-minded people. Spotting chalk loving wildflowers at Crowlink The chalk grassland surveys were carried out by Seaford Natural History Society in association with the National Trust. These are carried out across numerous fields near the Seven…
Aerial views of the Sussex Coast
Some time ago Mike and I went for a flight in a light aircraft along the South Coast between Shoreham and Eastbourne. Flying along the Seven Sisters Great views of the Cuckmere Valley and two lighthouses As you can see we had a fantastic flight along the South Coast in the August sunshine, with great…
A walk near Belle Tout lighthouse
Two flowers spotted on a February walk along the Seven Sisters Belle Tout lighthouse is on the South coast of Sussex, just West of Eastbourne. As it was one of the first sunny days of the year, Mike and I decided to take the kids for a walk. We parked at Birling Gap and walked…
A walk along Seaford Head
Walking in the South Downs National Park Here is an article I wrote last summer about a local walk. It is June and I am sitting at the top of Seaford Head I am perched above the 100ft white cliffs, about 15ft from the edge. I am not sitting on a bench, but straight on…