Open day Wildlife pond 18th July 2026

Call in anytime between 10am and 4pm to visit the wildlife pond and meadow, near Gid Lane, Upper Froyle. There should be plenty to see especially if it’s a sunny day.
Members of Froyle Wildlife will be on hand to assist with identification of wildflowers, dragonflies and butterflies. Wildflower species to look out for include; knapweed, lady’s bedstraw, meadowsweet, self heal, purple loosestrife, water figwort and bird’s-foot trefoil. Ladybirds, hoverflies, bees and grasshoppers may also be seen. No need to book, anyone can just pop in and see what you can spot.

How was the day? A lovely sunny day brought out 13 species of butterfly most of which were Gatekeepers – 39 recorded.  Others included Meadow brown 32, Painted lady 3, Small Copper 2, Clouded yellow 1.  Two day flying moths the Mint Moth and the hovering Hummingbird Hawk-moth’ were also spotted. The pond was busy with 8 species of dragonfly noted in all.  This included two male Emperor Dragonflies plus a female Emperor egg-laying.  Twelve male Azure damselfly plus 3 pairs were also recorded. 7 species of bird were seen, a Buzzard, Heron and Woodpigeons overhead, Wrens, Goldfinches, Blue tits, and a Blackbird. 15 visitors came and enjoyed the meadow and pond area. The most unusual sighting of the day was a Downland Villa Bee-fly (Villa cingulata), listed as a nationally rare species and a first for here.