Chris Lansdell's Birding & Nature Diary

Mega rares with the Norfolk Flora Group, 10 August 2024

The Norfolk Flora Group are a collection of enthusiastic volunteer botanists keen to map and survey the wild plants of the county. They meet very regularly to conduct field surveys but despite knowing a few of them (mostly through social media!) I had yet to meet up with them. That changed yesterday with a trip to the Earsham estate.

A working quarry was the unlikely meeting point but with very good reason. Parking up it was immediately obvious that vast areas of the site were a sea of the rare Pennyroyal! After everyone had arrived we were taken a few hundred yards further into the quarry for rarity number two - the impossibly rare Grass-poly which Meg has been surveying and found c200 plants! Also nearby of interest were loads of Panicled Willowherb, Marsh Yellow-cress, some probable Cornfield Knotgrass and rather less welcome New Zealand Pigmyweed which is being eradicated.

After that excitement it was off in small groups to survey a number of arable field margins. My time was fairly limited due to other commitments in the afternoon so I had to sneak off after an hour or so. It was great to finally meet up with the group however and put some faces to names.

Grass-poly

Pennyroyal

Cornfield Knotgrass, probably!

Panicled Willowherb

Chippenham Fen NNR, 8 August 2024

A lift out into Cambs with Ben Potterton for a quick visit to the access-restricted Chippenham Fen NNR looked after by Natural England.

Ben has an appointment to collect some seed of one of the rarest plants in the UK, Cambridge Milk-parsley that the warden at Chippenham had collected. So I joined Ben, Meg and Ben's colleague Aiden on the jolly.

It proved to be a very enjoyable visit with Chris the warden being very welcoming as he took a couple of hours out to show us around some parts of the reserve. Cambridge Milk-parsley was obviously our main target and I was amazed that there are thousands of plants there with loads in full flower. Interestingly they favour drier areas where I was expecting to be looking at them with wet feet! This rare plants now grows in just 2 places with this one being the largest population by a huge margin. We saw a few other good plants too with the attractive Saw-wort being a particular highlight for me as this is the closest they occur to home. Long-stalked Yellow Sedge and Canadian Waterweed were also both new to me added to which we also saw Marsh Fragrant Orchid, Fen Bedstraw, Yellow Wort, Heath Milkwort and the Eyebright, Euphrasia confusa.

I didn't spend a huge amount of time looking at insects but did find Ectemnius lapidarius, Wasp Spider, Large-headed Resin Bee, Ruddy Darter, Southern Hawker and the hoverfly Cheilosia impressa. Back at Meg's a Turnip Sawfly posed on Ben's car too.

Cambridge Milk-parsley

Long-stalked Yellow Sedge

Saw-wort

Ectermnius lapidarius

Wasp Spider

Large-headed Resin Bee

Heath Milkwort

Eyebright, E.confusa

Canadian Waterweed

Dickleburgh Moor and a great find, 4 & 6 August 2024

A couple of very recent visits to my local patch which I'm very lucky to have just 5 minutes drive away.

On Sunday I found an absolute botanical mega in the form of Broadleaf Arrowhead (aka Duck-potato) growing in 2 adjacent ditches on the reserve. It would appear to be the first record in the whole of East Anglia so to say I am chuffed would be an under statement! As you can see below I made sure I documented it well with photographs. Other notable plants around the reserve include the now amazingly numerous for such a rarity Nodding Bur-marigold (form radiata), Amphibious Bistort, Gypsywort, Golden Dock, Pedunculate Club-rush, Corn Mint, Water Plantain, Frogbit, Water Chickweed, Celery-leaved Buttercup and Marsh Woundwort.

Last year Marsh Fleawort (extinct in the UK since 1899!) was introduced onto the reserve and despite having missed the flowering period I was delighted to see that it has set seed and seedlings are now present! It would be amazing if this plant could once again grace our marshes.

While on the subject of rarities - it was lovely to be shown a specimen of Orange-fruited Elm Lichen that Ben Potterton had. A species that has declined to almost nothing since Dutch Elm Disease killed so many of our native elms.

Migrant waders are starting to move through the reserve with 2 juv Little Ringed Plovers, 3+ Green Sandpipers, Greenshank and 8+ Snipe seen plus a peak count of 40 Little Egrets.

Insects seen on my 2 visits included Painted Lady, 2 new sawflies - Selandria serva and Eutomostethus ephippium plus Capsus ater.

Many thanks to the ever-hospitible Ben Potterton for arranging the guided walk on Tuesday and showing us some of his exciting cultivation specimens!

Broadleaf Arrowhead

Marsh Fleawort seedling

Nodding Bur-marigold

Golden Dock

Amphibious Bistort

Orange-fruited Elm Lichen

Selandria serva

Painted Lady

Weybread GPs, 2 August 2024

We had a quick overnighter at Weybread GPs in our motorhome on Friday evening.

A mooch about the area of the sailing club and waters edge revealed some nice Skullcap plants amongst the Water Mint and a few insects - Mystacedes nigra with it's impossibly long antennae, the flies Dexia rustica and Coenosia tigrina plus the flea beetle Neocrepidodera transversa.

While we relaxed a Kingfisher was frequently seen and heard in the inlet with a fly-over Turtle Dove, Common Tern, Green Woodpecker and the local feral Barnacle Geese also entertaining.

Dexia rustica

Mystacedes nigra

Barnacle Geese

Botanising in the Bure Valley, 28 July 2024

On Sunday I met up with Louis Parkerson on his patch in the Bure Valley near Horstead. Most of the walk we did involved some sneaky trespassing but we didn't see another soul.

Our main target was the rare alien Hoary Alison which Louis had found a week or two previously. Luckily we found several clumps still in good condition growing in the sandy soil along a field edge. Apparantly the first county record for 25 years. That wasn't the only plant of interest however and close inspection of the same area revealed several other goodies. Walking over to look at a strip of the conspicuous Wood Small-reed Louis found some Yellow Bristle Grass quickly followed by a very narrow-leaved knotgrass that subsequently proved to be Cornfield Knotgrass. Other good finds were Field Woundwort, Sharp-leaved Fluellen and what was later confirmed as Garden Radish on the edge of set-aside.

Inverts found included Short-fringed Mining Bee, Goldenrod Crab Spider and the thistle-loving Mottled Thistle Fly.