Highgate's heathland

As part of the monitoring work I've been developing and beginning to implement across Staffordshire Wildlife Trust's nature reserves I'll also need to visit the reserves to work out the best approach.  Today was the turn of Highgate Common near Wombourne in the southern depths of the county.

Back in 2009 transects were set up to monitor the heathland and assess its condition.  A lot of metaphorical water has passed under the bridge and thus a lot has changed on the reserve, so today was about revisiting the transects to see how easy there are to locate and follow.

The heathland was buzzing with insects, especially bees and butterflies.  With ease I saw peacock, small tortoiseshell, red admiral, small skipper, essex skipper, meadow brown, ringlet, gatekeeper and a few whites.  Elsewhere on the reserve there are good numbers of marbled white and white admiral being seen too.  Purple hairstreak are also on the reserve so if you're stuck for something to do its certainly a great reserve!

Find out more details about the reserve here - http://www.staffs-wildlife.org.uk/reserves/highgate-common