After some late departures, confusion about car parks, passing each other
going the other way, and a few mobile phone conversations, we all managed to
meet up in Sea View car park not long after ten. John Walker met us and
explained the work for the day. In the morning we widened a path along the
edge of the reserve to enable John to mow it: This consisted of removing
grass and soil with mattocks and spades according to preference, and was
pretty hard work in the warm weather.
We then moved on to the Rimac site for lunch and the afternoon's task -
counting orchids. There were...seven thousand?? We just did a total count
this time, not detailed as we usually do at Moor Closes.
John kindly found us some Natterjack toads and brought over a bucket of
pond water with various creepy crawlies in. We also saw plenty of flowers
(e.g. viper's bugloss - great name), butterflies and cinnabar moths.
Nicola