Eastbourne Group Walk Report - Cornish Farm on 7 July 2015
It was with low expectations that 17 of us met in the car park near Belle Tout for our walk to Cornish Farm with the local weather forecast telling us that we were in for a wet morning.
Being a fairly hardy lot we set off in very breezy conditions just as some light rain started but before we even reached the track up to Cornish Farm we had seen Marbled White, Meadow Brown and Small Skipper butterflies hunkered down in the vegetation together with many plant species including one Bee Orchid (white coloured), Yellow-rattle, Yellow-wort and Hoary Plantain.
The weather then closed in on us, the rain got heavier and visibility deteriorated so at this point we agreed with Chris Brewer’s suggestion to take a detour towards Horseshoe Plantation and then to return to the car park. This turned out to be quite fortuitous as not only did the weather suddenly improve but we found Bastard-toadflax in a new location for it which we decided was a good omen and then headed up the track to Cornish Farm with the sun trying to break through.
Skylarks were singing all the time as we walked up the concrete track to the farm and the plant list continued to grow with Common Broomrape, Prickly Lettuce, Black Horehound, Hogweed and Mugwort amongst others added to the plant list. There were masses of Hedge Bedstraw to one side of the track and the field beyond was a joy to look at with Field Poppies, Sun Spurge and too many other wild flowers to list here.
At the top of the track we heard Corn Buntings singing followed shortly after by a “Thistle Experience” when we saw in quick succession Slender (Seaside), Musk (Nodding), Creeping, Spear and Dwarf Thistles. Wild Mignonette, Pyramidal Orchids, a large clump of Kidney Vetch and Clustered Bellflower were also seen as were some Swifts, Swallows and House Martins.
On our way back to the car park there were still some surprises with a super specimen of Weld and also a Dark Green Fritillary butterfly.
On the walk we recorded 83 species of plants, 12 of birds and 12 butterflies/moths/insects.
My thanks to Chris Brewer for leading the walk and for making sure we all had an enjoyable morning and to Alan Major for the photograph of the wild flower meadow we saw on the walk.