Speckled Wood

Speckled Wood is the name we've given to a section of our frequently used route down to the village shops. We like it because, although it is a plantation, it's entirely of several species of deciduous trees, and it therefore has its own special populations, one of which is....

....the butterfly after which we named the wood - the speckled wood.

It's far from a gaudy butterfly like the peacock and red admiral, but we think it's very pretty. It's also rather special because it seems to be thriving so, when we saw this season's first ones in flight on Thursday, it wasn't the paltry one or two we're seeing of all the other species, but an extravagant dozen or more, all already very actively competing for mates.

We also like Speckled Wood for the other wildlife it offers. For example, it used to be one of the best places to see roe deer. So it seemed quite natural this morning to find this structure by the side of the path. It's about a foot across, and in many ways looks like an open nest - except it has a deep hole at the back of it. There are more of these structures close by.

I have no idea what built it but, if I were pushed, I might suggest it's about the right size for a rat.