{"id":2525,"date":"2014-06-04T13:55:18","date_gmt":"2014-06-04T18:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rdnhs.org.uk\/blog\/?p=2525"},"modified":"2014-06-04T13:55:18","modified_gmt":"2014-06-04T18:55:18","slug":"ron-wards-meadow-tadley-25-may-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rdnhs.org.uk\/blog\/ron-wards-meadow-tadley-25-may-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Ron Ward’s Meadow, Tadley – 25 May 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

Graham Saunders led a walk at Ron Ward\u2019s Meadow, Tadley (a permit-only reserve of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust) on the sunny afternoon of Sunday 25th May. The meadow slopes gently downwards, with the wetter parts towards the bottom coloured a darker, duller green by sedges and rushes. From the top of the reserve, there is a distant view southwards towards the Hampshire Downs. The meadow was full of flowers and alive with insects. On the drier slopes, flowers included Oxeye Daisy, Meadow Buttercup, Yellow Rattle, Common Bird\u2019s-foot-trefoil, Common Vetch and Red Clover and there were many Common Blue butterflies. Some of the Oxeye Daisies had clusters of tiny micro-moths on their yellow centres. Dropping down onto the damper parts of the meadow, the vegetation changed and the flowers included Marsh Thistle, Cuckooflower, Ragged Robin, Tormentil, Narrow-leaved Vetch and Common Lousewort. Insects included a Small Copper butterfly, plus Mother Shipton, Burnet Companion and Straw Dot moths. Heath Spotted-orchids were seen right across the reserve, dotted across the drier parts, but in vast swarms in the damper sections. The many different sedges posed a challenge to the botanists. Varieties identified included Oval, Common Yellow and Hairy Sedge. Several Common Frogs and a Roe Deer were also seen.<\/p>\n