The Lyons Share

I spent a long but enjoyable day yesterday at the BTO's headquarters at the Nunnery thrashings out ideas of what to record in a national living landscape monitoring strategy. Despite seven hours driving and a five hour meeting, I squeezed in some natural history thanks to Andy Musgrove and Brian Eversham. The highlight for me was this notable a weevil, Cossonus linearis, that I found on a hybrid Black Poplar snag. It's  real specialist of this part of the world according to the NBN, so it was a really nice thing to chance upon. Another beetle Brian showed us that was not something I have ever come across before, Gonodera luperus. I see that has a stronghold in the Brecks too. I saw three new beetles in all but dipped on Otter and Platyrhinus again!

Strangest though was ticking the nationally scarce Wall Bedstraw from a step ladder on the walls of the old Nunnery! Thanks to Andy, Brian and Rob for such an enjoyable day.

It's funny the places I find myself in. So yesterday afternoon I found myself on a road verge in Thetford with Mark Gurney looking at one of the few sites in the country for Fingered Speedwell. Oh the irony, that such a flimsy plant would only allow my camera to focus on it if I placed my finger in the shot first! Nearby was the other speciality speedwell of the area, the aptly named Breckland Speedwell.

And the rather attractive Spring Vetch.

The next few blog posts are all out of county so look away now if you are not interested in rare spring annuals and nationally scarce weevils in the Brecks! For the first time since I left the RSPB four years ago, I headed back to that part of the world to see some old friends and twitch some rare plants. I have taken so many photos that I might have to drip feed the posts out so I'll start with this road verge in Thetford on Sunday, then rewind to what happened on Saturday when I got on a bike for the first time in seven years...