Dorset Walks

Thursday October 20th Ringstead

Autumn wildlife on the Cretaceous Coast The dry chalk soils above and to the east of Ringstead give this area a stark character in October.
As the grasses dry and yellow in the Autumn winds one particular family of insects become obvious - the bush-crickets. South Dorset has more of these impressive insects than any other part of the country and we should see several different species. Most common in this locality is the Dark Bush-cricket but we are also likely to find the rarer Grey Bush-cricket.	Grey Bush-cricket
Slime Mould	October is one of the best months to see fungi - mushrooms, toadstools, moulds etc. Dry chalk soils are not the best habitat for the larger fungi but if we have damp, foggy weather we may well find examples of a related group - the slime moulds.
If the weather is windier we might be lucky enough to see some of the arctic seabirds that will be moving down the English Channel at this time of year. Gannets are likely to be most numerous, perhaps along with groups of Manx Shearwaters and possibly some Arctic or Great Skuas.	Great Skua