Jubilee Country Park

After coming to the realization last night that for the past few months i had been mistaking Hawkwood estate as Jubilee Country Park, i decided to visit the real park this time.

I arrived through the Oxhawth Crescent entrance to be greeted with chalk meadow and the drone of various grasshoppers. The meadows here were alive with life the meadow was dotted with Corky Fruited Water Dropwort (Oenanthe pimpinelloides),  Bird's Foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), Tufted Vetch (Vicia Craca), Chicory (Cichorium intybus) and the most numerous and popular plant, Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense). Countless Common Blue ( Polyommatus icarus) and Gatekeeper (Maniola tithonius) flitted around, chasing each other and forming tornadoes of butterflies. Other butterfly species spotted include Comma ( Nymphalis c-album),  Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina), Speckled Wood (Parage aegeria)  and Six-Spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae).

Tufted Vetch 

The woodland seen here has been maintained for over 800 years, the diverse and rich ecosystem in the meadow speaks for the health of these Woodlands. A mix of Oak, Hazel, Field Maple, Blackthorn, Hawthorn and Midland Hawthorn. There was a large amount of oak regeneration happening, and these meadows would soon be reverted back into woodland if not continually cut. It's quite obvious these meadows were once woodland. If not taken over by the woodlands, these meadows were in trouble from being taken over by creeping thistle, this was in huge, impenetrable thickets in some areas, and was quickly overtaking.

Male Small White

Six Spot Burnet 

Female Small White

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 I spent a considerable amount of time sitting in the long grass listening to the chirp of the meadow grasshoppers and the drone of the field grasshoppers. The deafening conversations these insects was very interesting to listen to, certain areas would chime, and another area would reply, pitches would change and frequencies too, i could listen to them chat all day long. I'm not sure if i prefer crickets or grasshoppers, i heard a large amount of crickets in High Elms the other day, but they were all safety tucked into a hedgerow.

Meadow Grasshopper (Omocestus viridulus)

Speckled Bush Cricket (Leptophyes punctassima) 

Roesel's Bush Cricket (metrioptrea roeselii)

Laying down in the grass and listening to the chorus of the Grasshoppers and crickets is both soothing and educational. Being at the same level as them all, you can start to see them travelling through the thick grass, some choosing to jump from blade to blade, with bigger specimens such as the Roesel's Bush Cricket clumsily clambering through the lower parts of the grass. You can start to see the individual grasshopper's happily rubbing their legs, proudly displaying their tune.