Chris Lansdell's Birding & Nature Diary: Botanising down Yarmo! 18 July 2024

Acting on a tip-off I made my way to Yarmouth on a sultry Thursday evening for some botanical twitching!

The plant in question was the rare Ray's Knotgrass which I duly found growing in the sand in the surreal surroundings of Mr Wobbles playpark just south of Britannia Pier! Another, much larger clump was in a fenced area just north of the pier and has been submitted on iRecord. Sea Rocket and Sea Holly were also in the area as I headed north along the seafront to have a look on North Denes. Just 50 yards from where I parked I was surprised and delighted to find a large bush of the even rarer Shrubby Hare's-ear by the seawall. An exploration of the same rough area also revealed a 2 curious mulleins - which I strongly suspect to be Orange Mullein and White Mullein together with loads of Sheeps-bit, Sand Sedge, Haresfoot Clover, White Stonecrop, Spiny Restharrow and more Sea Holly.

On the way out of town I stopped on Asda carpark for a look on Breydon. Here on The Lumps were 20 Spoonbills, a Glossy Ibis and loads of Mediterranean Gulls. With only bins on me there could well have been more Spoonbills but it was a lovely way to end the evening.