Ballowfield NNR
Dales National Park
Carperby Wensleydale
Site Details:
Recorders: Martin Bland Distance: 831m Walk Time: 35mins Altitude 250m.
This is a small grassland nature reserve area near Carperby, Wensleydale on an area of lead mining spoil. The transect then crosses Eller Beck into the Ox Close Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), designated for its assemblage of metallophytes and other plants tolerant of metal-rich soils. The site also has an important woodland component where Small-leaved Lime Tilia cordata and Large-leaved Lime Tilia platyphyllos are present along with wet flushes and limestone grassland . Eller Beck runs through an area of grassland that has built up on lead mining spoil. As a variety of different plant communities can be seen here. Metallophytes such as thrift, pyrenean scurvygrass and spring sandwort can be seen on the lead mining spoil close to the beck, meadowsweet can be seen in the wetter marshy areas and devil’s-bit scabious and harebell can be seen in some of the drier areas.
Sections:
The main meadow area runs either side of the stream S2 and S5 in particular and here Small heath, Common Blue, Small Skipper favour, whiel large skipper is largely confined to S5Wall has been seen is small number in S6 and 7 and Meadow browns favour S7 Ringlets prefer the damper areas of S5 and 7 into 8 and teh speckled Wood the woodland of S9 .
Northern Borown Argus has been seen several times on S5
Results 2019 ( last full year)
2021 saw only 1 walk so data is a bit patchy without 2018 and 2020 and it is tricky to see trends.
2019 was a very good year as for many sites and it was a first for Brimstone, Small white, and Wall Brown returned. Only Small Heath sees a downwards trend . Green Hairstreaks have not been seen for a few years and nor have Northern Brown Argus
