A depression where the grass has been flattened indicates the possible site of a sleeping deer; roe deer are a very common sight and it would not be unusual to see one out in the open in daylight.
Beneath the daisies the ground is a carpet of red and white clover, interspersed with the pale yellow of the tall-stemmed agrimony and the tiny pin-pricks of the low-lying hop trefoil. The white of bladder campion grows in a few small clusters, nodding gently in the breeze. Around the edges appear the purple of hedge woundwort, the intense blue of germander speedwell and the yellow of St john’s wort. The wonderfully spiky common knapweed appears singularly, while hidden shyly beneath the wealth of flowers are the delicate lilac flowers of self heal. However the most delicate flower of all is the minute white fairy flax that hugs the ground – very easy to overlook but once spotted appear everywhere.
Despite all these wonderful flowers the find of the day is the discovery of a lone bee orchid, the first that I have ever seen in the wild. The flowers are so delicate, so colourful, so beautiful that I just have to photograph it from numerous angles – who knows when I will be lucky enough to see another one. I just hope that my camera does it the justice it deserves. There could well be dozens of them dotted around the field but at little more than 8ins tall I would virtually have to tread on one before I see it.
The meadow is also alive with bees – some so big that they seem to barely climb into the air before alighting again, the delicate stems often bending under their bulk – insects, butterflies, moths, damselflies, crickets and grasshoppers. This one field alone would represent a lifetime study into its composition.
Thankfully, the one wildflower that there is very little of is ragwort and, by the middle of the afternoon we have reached the far corner of the field with barely a full bag between all of us. This is very good news for its eventual eradication from this site. It also means that it can be safely cut for hay in the near future.