Helmdon Old Railway Sidings

After work, I've spent quite a bit of time along the old disused railway line and old station site at Helmdon, some 4 miles away from Brackley. It's a great little area for wildlife with a mixture of scrub and rough grassland. It was in this general area that species like the Small Blue butterfly and Green-Winged Orchid were once present. Sadly nowadays, these appear to be no longer seen, however I can't help thinking it would make a wonderful nature reserve and with the right management, could be a cracking little site!

It is though, still home to some nice stuff and is well worth visiting during the summer, particularly during June & July. This year has seen particularly good numbers of 1st brood Common Blue and while they have now all but disappeared, the second brood of the season should be emerging shortly.

The site's biggest draw to me has been the large colony of at least 100 Marbled White, definitely up there with my favourite butterfly species. I just don't get bored seeing and photographing them!

A late-ish Orange Tip was present on 11/06, in surprisingly good condition, while a visit on 16/06 also brought a couple of migrant Painted Ladies. The second I saw was in particularly ropey condition! It had obviously come a long way!

Theres been a small smattering of Common Spotted Orchids here too, with a few cracking specimens on show. Sadly none of the hoped for Bee Orchids despite plenty of seemingly suitable habitat.

On the bird front theres been regular Cuckoo, Raven, several Willow Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat among other things, as well as a lovely hunting Barn Owl on the evening of 16/06.