Lower Dunscombe Cliffs

Lower Dunscombe Cliff is one of my favourite local spots, we often go there for a short walk and sometimes a picnic. There's some great habitat and always plenty to see. Here are some photos from a couple of visits last year, once in May and again in late June.

My favourite spot to sit for an hour or so and have a cuppa. 

It's especially nice to boil the water on site, much better than a flask!

(Note our carbon fibre mat to protect the ground)

Fulmars were checking out the cliffs for nesting sites.

It's a good spot to see the scarce wildflower 

Nottingham Catchfly - Silene nutans

Female Orange Tip

Laval web of the Small Eggar moth

Small Yellow Underwing 

A pretty day-flying moth that's quite common. However I think this was my first ever sighting of one.

Marsham's Nomad Bee - Nomada marshamella

I spent ages trying to get a photo of this Ichneumon Wasp, don't know why there's absolutely no chance of identifying it!

On another visit in late June the grass on the clifftop was parched to a crisp and there were very few flowers to be seen. Any that were surviving the dry conditions were very stunted, like this Pyramidal Orchid.

Pyramidal Orchid - Anacamptis pyramidalis

Bumblebee Hoverfly - Volucella bombylans