Bog Trotting

A quick post before I settle into an afternoon of nail-biting nervous tension with the close of the longest football season imaginable.

This morning I've been out on a quest. It was like twitching birds, except having far more chance of scoring as the quarry is absolutely unable to get up and wander off (although in some situations it could have been mowed, picked or lathered in weed killer). Yes - I've been tracking down published dots on Naturespot maps and finding vascular plants and their parasites where they were recorded as being.

So the blue dots on here are for various records from a site that I'll refer to as Sapcote Marsh. They are all generated by probably the most diligent and prolific recorder on Naturespot, Graham Calow. I'd never been to this site, but Graham assured me that access was easy from a signposted footpath through a field and that walking boots were more than adequate ....

I'm glad I put full length trousers on and also took the precaution of wearing my waterproof Sealskinz socks! The site is essentially a wide strip between a cultivated field and a drainage ditch, surrounded by mixed hedgerow. It has a potential to be damp. No idea of the history of the site, or whether the landowner is obliged to maintain the strip as it has been there for decades, but Graham seems to think it is a little in decline and generally dryer than it used to be.

I managed to traipse around for an hour or so getting wetter by the minute thanks to the knee-high vegetation and over-night rain. The strip between the crop and the grass was best, with a few arable plants mixed in with the crop. I ended up finding most of the species I was looking for, including Gypsywort, Pale Persicaria, Black-bindweed and Parsley-piert. I also found dipteran galls on Perennial Sow-thistle and Meadowsweet, and a smut rust on White Campion.

I've got a few plants lined up to look for, but the Leicester City lockdown is creating a bit of a blocker for that the moment.

Meanwhile the moth trap has been dormant for most of the week with poor trapping conditions and/or work related commitments getting in the way. Here's a couple from recently ....

Plain Pug

Lackey

Hoary Footman (hindwing checked)