A site I've been to a couple of times before but it was almost on our route through to Nottingham so a return visit seemed in order.
And it turned out to be an inspired choice because halfway through our wander around the whole site I flushed a Wryneck which promptly flew off NW towards houses on the edge of the reserve. I find very few good birds so that was quite a moment for me! Just a pity it didn't hang about. 3 Red Kites were also patrolling the area.
The main reason for going was the wildflowers and they didn't fail us - there were Pasqueflowers everywhere intermingled with scattered Chalk Fragrant Orchids and mostly gone over Green-winged Orchids plus Columbine, Common Rock Rose, Purple Milk Vetch, Eyebright, Hounds-tongue and Horseshoe Vetch. All great limestone grassland plants. Checking one of the fenced enclosures I then managed to find a single Man Orchid and a Common Twayblade.
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