Warren House Wander

Wednesday 31st July and I met up with Mavis at Yelverton for a Dartmoor day, something we haven't done in July before. We decided to have a walk around the Warren House area and parked up at Bennets Cross at around 10am. It was cool and breezy and the skies were grey but we headed down the valley towards Soussons with high hopes.

It was surprisingly quiet as we started our walk but as we entered the more sheltered gullies birds and butterflies began to appear. Stonechat, chaffinch, whitethroat, blue tit and willow warbler including a singing bird heard only were noted along with magpies and woodpigeons and 5 ravens together overhead, presumably a family group. Meadow browns and a few small whites were flitting about too.

Further down the valley we found a small flock of linnet feeding in the heather and 2 juvenile whinchat sat in the tops of the bracken. Keeled skimmers and a blue damselfly were buzzing around with small skippers and both sundew and bog asphodel were found in the boggy areas.

Keeled Skimmer

Sundew

Sundew

Small Skipper

Small Skipper

A break for a coffee in the ruins of a building at Golden Dagger was interrupted by 4 crossbill flying over "glipping" away and heading off high towards Birch Tor and a short time later 2 were seen flying back into the pine trees.

After our coffee we walked back to the car at Bennets Cross, seeing 4 juvenile whinchat on the bracken tops along with a gatekeeper and a small heath, and then drove round to Challacombe Farm for lunch and a look about. Unfortunately the clouds and drizzle had arrived and it was a bit soggy but we had a nice view of a male redstart along with a grey wagtail, a grey heron flying over and house martins flitting about over the trees. The attentions of the 4 piglets was quite cute too but we ended up wet and muddy as they sniffed and snuffled around us, they have grown since our visit in April and unfortunately it can't be long now before they are off to the butchers.

 Whinchat

 Whinchat

Whinchat

Heading home and we saw 2 wheatear by the roadside near Grimspound before the rain really kicked in but arriving back in Plymouth it was dry - however it had been a very enjoyable walk with Warren House looking different but beautiful at a time of the year I don't usually see it.