Bracken Hall Green Walk. 8 Aug ’25

Oak Trees

We did find a Purple Hairstreak butterfly on one of the Oak trees. We also spotted quite a few other things on them. Artichoke Galls from the Andricus foecundatrix cynipid wasp. Cherry Galls from the Cynips quercusfolii wasp. Silk-Button Spangle Galls from the Neuroterus numismalis cynipid wasp. Common Spangle Galls from the Neuroterus quercusbaccarum cynipid wasp. The header image is a Cherry Gall. The Cherry Gall below is on a leaf with Silk-Button and Common Spangle Galls.And Knopper Oak Galls from the Andricus quercuscalicis cynipid wasp. Of course there were Acorns, lots of them.

Other Things

Pretty much the first thing we spotted on the walk was a Painted Lady on a patch of bare earth just near the road. Later, further over towards the trees there were several Small Coppers flying around as were several Gatekeepers, they settled for a few seconds on Heather and Bilberry. We spotted a Green Woodpecker a couple of times, it was probably looking for ants to eat. Several places had small holes in the ground and ants around. Along the paths were slightly larger holes made by mining bees, with piles of the excavated earth around them. Some looked as though they were blocked. I couldn’t tell whether the bee was blocking it or if it had pulled something in after itself.

Over in the Glen three people were making a video. The board reads – Prod. Beauty in the Darkness. Roll B-01. Shot 10. Take 1. Director: Declan O’Keeff. Camera: Amanda Prosser. Date: 08/08/25. On-line searches revealed information about Amanda Prosser Films.

We spent quite a bit of time looking and talking and the walk came to an end while we were still on Bracken Hall Green. Towards the end of the walk it was nice to see some delicate Harebell flowers..