Flowers at The Magdalene Hill Down Nature Reserve

Some more photos from Yesterday's trip to the Nature Reserve.In all there are about 100 acres in the reserve,divided into three areas. before Butterfly Conservation took over the management of the area, the site had been invaded by scrubland and many of the flowers and butterflies were threatened with extinction in the area. To control the scrub and to keep the flower-rich grassland in good condition, the reserve is rotationally grazed by livestock, so some of the site is divided into fenced paddocks. The gates are left open except for when there are animals grazing. The Conservation work is supported by a Higher Level Stewardship Scheme administered by Natural England

Footpath through the Reserve

Flower meadows.

Clustered bell flower

Poppy

Field Scabious

Mallow

Knapweed

Harebells

Magdalene Hill Down Nature Reserve

Magdalen Hill Down Nature Reserve is just outside of Winchester.Half is unimproved chalk grassland , rich in wildflowers. Over 400 moth species and 30 butterfly species have been found there. The other half was intensively farmed for over 50 years. In 1997 it was seeded with local wild flowers and gradually the chemical residues are declining and the area is being colonized by local butterflies and moths.The area is managed by Butterfly Conservation
it was a warm sunny day and our original plan was to visit the site and then go into Winchester, but we spent so long photographing the Butterflies and wild flowers that we only managed a short stop at Alresford on our way home.
(will blog the flowers tomorrow)