Nottingham catchfly, Great Orme

As always I had a thoroughly enjoyable day on the Great Orme, cumulating in finding about eight plants of Nottingham catchfly on a path just above Alex Munro Way and opposite the Grand Hotel. I thought that this was a first for me, but it turns out only in the UK. I have seen the plant previously in the Alps and the Pyrenees. A fascinating plant, and thanks to Zac for helping me find it.

June is a great month for flowers on the Great Orme, with bloody cranesbill and common rockrose providing most of the colour.

Field scabious is another beautiful plant in flower at the moment.

Pyramidal orchid.

Most of the bird interest at the moment is on the cliffs, with hundreds of guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes nesting near the lighthouse, where there are also a few pairs of black guillemots. A couple of peregrines hunted these cliffs, whilst fulmars nest closer to the start of Marine drive. 

It's great to have the addition of chough as a breeding species on these cliffs, and I was pleased to find these juveniles already sporting a nice array of bling. The adults were in the area and joined them just as I was walking away.

This stonechat was also wearing a ring, apparently ringed on the Orme about two years ago.

I'm not sure why, but I was a little surprised to see three wheatears on the Orme today.

I remember seeing this World War 2 lookout when I was a youngster but in recent years I've not noticed it. I used to walk the opposite route over the Orme to that which I take these days, walking in an anti-clockwise direction, but these days I prefer to walk clockwise, starting at West parade, going over the limestone pavement and then dropping down to the lighthouse before coming back along Marine drive. I don't think that the lookout is as obvious when you walk clockwise, plus it's in a much more dilapidated state and just blends in with the cliff. However, spot it I did today.

Hard imagine spending too long in here, but saying that, it would be well sheltered from the prevailing westerly wind.