Wildlife

James Lowen

Let's finish with one particular Breckland plant, a mega-rarity. I somehow failed to find either Proliferous Pink or Spanish Catchfly at Cranwich Camp (return visit needed!, but seeing the Field Wormwood at the incongruous Artemisia reserve in Brandon was somewhat easier. This reserve, not much bigger than a couple of tennis courts and right in the middle of an industrial estate, provoked contradictory emotions in me. Should I be delighted that this plant- and invertebrate-rich patch of Breckland habitat has been spared destruction - or depressed that we have so desecrated our natural habitats that we are forced to conserve such patches? Expect a fuller contemplation in my next book, A Summer of British Wildlife, published by Bradt Travel Guides in April 2016...

Next up a couple of classy orchids, one expected, one not. The anticipated one was the chlorantha Bee Orchids near Loddon. The other was Norfolk's first Lizard Orchid for 60 years, which was discovered near Drayton last year - but the news only came out last week. It smelled deliciously goaty.

Garden moths are all well and good - and I must have seen 250 species in my two gardens now - but would you only ever birdwatch at home? Wouldn't you be tempted to know what fluttered and flitted a bit farther afield, in other environments? So, for the past few months, I have found myself dreaming of moth-ing in other habitats. To start with, I have joined two RSPB events, one at Lakenheath and one at Strumpshaw (the latter inspired by warden Ben Lewis's account of moth'ing there). Inevitably, plenty of new species for me - given the new habitats of alder carr, fenland and reedbeds. Aside from finally meeting local PSL-er James Emerson, the highlights were a quartet of reedbed pyralids (Pale Water Veneer, Scarce Water Veneer, Giant Water Veneer and Wainscot Veneer), the nationally scarce Flame Wainscot and Dotted Fanfoot, the localised StripedWainscot and Fenland Pearl, plus several classy but common moths that were long overdue; Drinker, Pebble Prominent, Peach Blossom, Scallop Shell and Ghost Moth being particularly enjoyable. Here is a selection.

Plenty of other moths. Bordered Straw was a notable immigrant; there seems to have been a fair old influx this year. Lilac Beauty was quite scarce: how strange its semi-folded wings are. Beautiful Golden Y was sumptuous. Being a bit of a moth chav, however, I preferred the sexy colours of Green Silver-lines and Burnished Brass.

Plenty of moth-ing at home, and away this month. Let's start with home. I've written about the pink elephants previously. The month has been great for Hawkmoths, with Small Elephant, a few Poplars, Lime and a couple of Eyed (a tick for me). Maya did the done thing with the latter. My daughter is a classy chick - and even more so with a stunning insect as nasal jewellery.

I haven't done much dragonfly photography yet this year, which is a shame, as that's why I bought a 300mm f4 L lens last autumn. And this Norfolk Hawker didn't stay around long enough for me to pap it properly. Given the problems I've had photographing this beast, however, I shouldn't complain.

Highlight was some 500++ Fen Orchids, including 100 on a single tussock. To put that in context, 10 years ago, that is double what the British population was thought to be, before two Norfolk colonies were discovered/fully counted.

Next up were some incarnata Early Marsh Orchids that were all white (ie leucantha variant?). Crackers.

These plants were good. These plants were rare. But it was the orchids that really enthralled. Among Southern and Early Marsh Orchids were a candidate for what used to be identified as Pugsley's (aka Narrow-leaved) Marsh Orchid, but has now been lumped by Kew's Richard Bateman under Southern Marsh, for reasons that this non-botanist finds far from intuitive.

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28 Jun 2015 Moths, fens and bees

Some condensed highlights of a busy Norfolk June. Let's start with an amazing trip to a private site in the Broads. Several Red Data Book plants included Curled Buckler Fern, and both Greater and Lesser Water Parsnip. Here's a pic of the former.