June flew by in an instant, and, with all the flowers blooming, it was no surprise to me that it would be the wonderfully-winged being captured most with the camera this month.
Also, on the butterfly transect, two butterflies created a cause to celebrate. I found the park's first-ever Small pearl-bordered fritillary and a Small heath. I will share more of these guys on the butterfly transect blog later - so please stay tuned for this!
Throughout June, Castlemilk exploded with orchids and is now becoming a wildflower haven. Species such as Meadow buttercup, red clover, meadow vetchling & yellow rattle also took hold of the parks new wildflower meadow. However, it is not only here we are treated to beautiful blooms.
The wilder woodland paths are thick with lush, green vegetation with a mix of creeping and meadow buttercups. No wonder the woods were buzzing! On the woodland edges, there are walls of pollinator-friendly umbellifers, flowering fruit bushes, foxgloves and whilst there is still the lingering smell of the fading garlic, the scent of elderflower fills the air.
Earlier in June, we spotted fluffy wee-winged creatures! Yes, the boys and my long wait to see this year's ducklings were over. Quite a bittersweet moment, as there were only three (half the number from the recorded number of six earlier in the year).
In previous times there has been far more ducks and breeding success. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to suggest, that this may be one direct impact of the over-accumulation of silt in the pond - a decade long issue that the park has desperately tried to get help to fix. A section of the pond has now joined up to the middle island, so just in case any of the relevant authorities read this, please help Castlemilk & its resident ducks get their pond back.
Every walk is a fungi hunt, and this month did not disappoint. Just look at the Dryad's saddle (Polyporus squamosus) on this tree!
I like to look for interesting facts on all the fungi we find to tell the wee guy, and this one I've read smells like watermelon! I wish I knew this at the time to test it out - it might be back in the Autumn, so we'll find out.
The last of the winged creatures I want to highlight are the wee moths we spotted. My favourite find was the Clouded Border moth, a night-flying moth that I couldn't help think of a dairy cow when I saw it.
Another wee moth we got a good look at was the Silver-ground carpet moth & whilst having a pond-side rest, the sunlight exposed communal caterpillar webs that draped a tree on the middle island.
These are most likely from Ermine moth larvae that hide under the eerie webs, ravaging the foliage. I think they are pretty cool, and if you ever get them in your garden, don’t fret, they support other species such as hedgehogs, birds and ground beetles.
I hope you enjoyed this wee snippet of June in Castlemilk Park. The park is full of life at the moment, and, the wildflower meadows are at their best. There is plenty to see!
Every Thursday until August, I know that Cassiltoun Housing Association are holding their Food & Fun programme. If you are local, why not come to one of their pick-up sites, grab a free picnic for the kids & get exploring? You can find out more information here.
Hi, another great variety of the visitors and residents of the park, excellent photography and research as usual. Every month there’s something new and interesting, it truly is amazing what your able to share with us which lots of people would simply be passing by oblivious off what they’re missing