Ashdown, Part 5.

Sheep grazing on the Ashdown next to the Hollies car park.  Ashdown Forest, 6 September 2012.

All the car parks on the Ashdown Forest have names.  This one is the Hollies.  We met here, and watched cows and sheep wander across it.  Of course we always knew these animals graze the Ashdown, and deer too, because of their droppings, but you don;t always get this close to them.

It's the first time I have seen sheep grazing under trees.  They are normally kept on open moorlands or grassy fields.

Here are some of the Ashdown's flowers.

Hawkweed, Hieracium aggregate, among Dwarf Gorse (Ulex minor) and Ling (Calluna vulgaris).
Ashdown Forest, 6 September 2012.

This photo was taken at the side of the path.  There are three different heathers on the Ashdown.  This one, Ling, is the most common.  The Gorse is a dwarf species that is in full flower now, whereas there are few or no flowers on the much larger and more robust European Gorse.  The flower in the centre is a Hawkweed, one of several hundred so-called microspecies that only an expert can identify.  We saw one earlier with very hairy stems, so this one is definitely a different microspecies, and that's as far as I can go.  Some Bracken is also visible at the back.

Hoverfly, Eristalis species, on Devil's-bit Scabious, Succisa pratensis.  Ashdown Forest, 6 September 2012.

There were other flowers scattered around, including some of these Devil's-bit Scabious. 

The walk leader showed us where an unusual fungus grows.

Zoned Tooth, Hydnellum concrescens.  Ashdown Forest, 6 September 2012.

Instead of gills or pores, it has hundreds of teeth under its cap.  If only I hadn't forgotten to reset my camera to the right settings, I could have got some much better photos ...  but at least this one shows the teeth. 

I will finish this Ashdown series with a moth:

Silver Y, Autographa gamma.  Ashdown Forest, 6 September 2012.

The Ys on this moth look more golden than silver.  The colour is rather variable.  It has some close relatives with golden markings, but they are noticeably a different shape.

There were many of these large moths flying over the heath.  There were more moths than butterflies.  That's not obvious to most visitors because the butterflies are much more showy, but it's hard to miss this species.