Unusual Bogbean

The reserve is looking wonderful with the fullness that summer brings. Everywhere you look the flowers are filling up the spaces. The grasses are ripening and adding their tall, waving stems to the whole.

Up on the moorland the orchids are just about over but this Bogbean flower stood out because it is well outside its flowering time of May to June. It also has six petals instead of five! Although there are a lot of Bogbean leaves on the raised fen we don't usually see many flowers so this one is to be remarked on.

Regular readers might recall that earlier this year the volunteers did a lot of work on a little meadow in the scrapes area. It was very overshadowed by a huge number of Silver Birch. I'm pleased to say that it is now a riot of colour. Among the plants in flower are Agrimony, Knapweed, Tormentil and Soft Rush. This photo is of the seed capsule of Agrimony. The hairy stems were catching the low sunshine this morning.

Two Roe Deer were seen in the Larch plantation this morning and in the damp grass tiny froglets were hoppng everywhere!

This beautiful little moth goes by the name of Argyresthia brockeela and, although it is only 1cm long, it caught the light with a metallic, pale blue sheen.

It was one of the thirty four species in our trap yesterday. Antler Moth, Chevron, Brimstone, Muslin Footman, Bird-cherry Ermine and Garden Carpet were amongst the others which were caught and recorded.