Explore the garden at Mottistone Gardens and Estate

Summer highlights at Mottistone estate

In summer the views from the top of the downs are an overload for the senses.

Wildflowers

There’s beauty everywhere and hidden in the grass are exotic bee orchids. Horseshoe vetch is the food plant for two blue butterflies which are characteristic and chalk downland - Adonis blue and chalkhill blue.

Birdlife

Bird lovers will not be disappointed. Listen out for the signature yellowhammer call that sounds like ‘A little bit of bread and no cheese!’.

A most unusual and distinctive bird 

Nightjars are summer migrants from North Africa. They are nocturnal birds and can be seen hawking for food at dusk and dawn between May and late August. They have long wings like a falcon but weigh only as much as a starling and they are similar in shape to a kestrel or cuckoo.

Their grey-brown mottled and streaked plumage provides ideal camouflage during the daytime. You can tell the sexes apart by the white patch on the male’s wing. They have large eyes for good night vision, and wide ‘frog’ mouths to catch moths.

Strange vocal sounds

They produce a unique rising and falling song of around 30-40 beats per second, which is usually called 'churring' because the word sounds a bit like the song. They choose a high perch for their display, and in flight clap their wings and make other strange vocal sounds.

If you choose a warm summer evening and climb to the higher parts of the Mottistone common you may hear and see nightjars churring and feeding around the scattered trees and clearings.

Butterflies to spot in the estate

There are several sun-warmed benches to relax on and watch butterflies darting across the carpet of wildflowers.

Three shades of blue

The chalk quarry around the limekiln at the eastern end of the Down is an especially good place to look for butterflies because it acts as a sun trap. Blue butterflies include the vividly coloured Adonis blue, the chalkhill blue and the common blue.

Other colourful butterflies

There are more butterflies to spot in the area. Look out for the brown Argus which has a row of bright orange spots on its outer wing edges. Its caterpillars feed on rock rose found on chalky ground. The distinctive marbled white appears to favour a diet of purple flowers as it is often seen near them. The vibrant green hairstreak always settles with its wings closed and is well camouflaged against foliage.

Butterflies on the lower slopes of Mottistone Down

The boundary between the acid and chalk grassland is a good place to look for the powerful and fast-flying dark green fritillary in July. You may find the grizzled skipper and dingy skipper difficult to follow in flight due to their darting movements.

There are also graylings, meadow browns and the gatekeeper which is often found on the edges of scrub.

A rare visitor

If you’re lucky, you might spot the rare Glanville fritillary in May and June. By far the largest population in the UK is found on the cliffs and downs here on the south coast of the Isle of Wight. The Glanville fritillary is one of the smaller fritillaries. 

It's very active with rapid wing beats and a short glide. They rarely settle, but when they do, you can see their beautiful orange and brown chequered patterning and cream and orange bands on the underside of the wing.