Butterflies of sunny downlands.

The gently rolling downlands of southern England provide a warm and bountiful home for a multicoloured population of butterflies. On sunny days in summer the grassy hills come alive with bright patches of colour as groups of butterflies flutter around their favourite plants. Clusters of blue butterflies, coppers, green hairstreaks and marbled whites sparkle like jewels in the sunshine. The chalk soil of the downs favours chalk-loving wild flowers such as marjoram,thyme ,vetches, knapweed, scabious and yellow carline thistles. And the butterflies reap a harvest of nectar, particularly in warm hollows and on slopes facing south. A butterfly`s, life in the sun is spent establishing territories and fighting off rivals, having minor tussles with bumble-bees and hoverflies, courting and mating, feeding from flowers and basking in the sun. One active common blue might see off half a dozen other butterflies in a lightning chase over the grasses. Fleabane, with its yellow nectar-rich flowers, attracts common blues, small coppers, small heaths and small skippers, especially where the chalk soil is overlaid with clay and flint. Hawthorn, whitebeam,dogwood and spindle bushes provide vantage points for butterflies, such as green hairstreaks, that seek out territories. Where downland meets woodland, sulphur-coloured brimstones patrol the edge of the trees in search of buckthorn and ivy.

Habitats.

Part seven life among redwoods.

In Britain the coast redwood is an impressive tree that has already reached a height of 140 ft(43 meter`s). In its home on northern california`s pacific coast, it has become the tallest living thing on earth, reaching more than 360 ft (110 meter`s). It is remarkably long-lived as it will always throw out new shoots after a tree has fallen, and specimens in America have lived for more than 2,500 years. The oldest and largest stand of redwoods in Britain is the charles ackers redwood grove near welshpool, in powys. Unswept branches and a conical shape distinguish the dawn redwood from the taller coast redwood. Woodland and shave loving plants such as red campion, ivy and herb robert, and plants of grassy places such as common vetch and birds foot trefoil thrive among redwoods. When the branches of a coast redwood in the redwood grove near welshpool were driven into the ground as the tree fell, the branches on the upper side of the fallen trunk developed into young trees. After a tree has been felled, coppice shoots spring vigorously from the cut stump, and some will grow into new trees. Treecreepers hollow out roosting places in the redwoods soft bark. Tawny owls may also be seen amongst the redwood forest, they roost amongst the redwood branches.