Boundary House Fen - Saturday 27th July 2024

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Blog and photos by Eleanor  


This session was at Boundary House Fen again, but our task was different from the usual reed cutting, raking and stacking. Instead, we were working in the wooded area above the fen, and we were pulling up the creeping thistle, which must not be allowed to creep on to the fen, or on to the golf course, for that matter.

Creeping thistle


Creeping thistle has a light mauve flower head and we soon found it easy to distinguish from the marsh thistle. Some of us removed the larger plants, while those who didn't mind getting on their hands and knees tackled the smaller ones. There was also some scything and raking to be done and the odd stray Himalayan Balsam to be pulled up.




Green Gymmers hard at work



Judy Webb arrived with her bug collecting equipment so we knew we could expect some interesting finds.

Judy equipped for bug hunting



The weather was very warm and sunny, and we were quite glad to be working mostly in the shade of the trees. It was ideal weather for insects, and we saw a number of different butterflies - gatekeepers, skippers, whites, meadow browns, ringlets and peacocks. At tea break time, Judy showed us some sulphur bugs which she had caught in her collecting jar.

Tea break




 
Gatekeeper butterfly on gorse bush




There was plenty of ragwort around, safe from extermination here, as horses and cattle are not allowed on golf courses! It was encouraging to see the black and yellow striped cinnabar moth caterpillars on the ragwort as this is their main food plant. Soon they will pupate and emerge as beautiful red and black moths.


Cinnabar moth caterpillar on ragwort




It was time to pack up the tools and head off home. As we made our way back to the car park, we saw what an amazing variety of wild flowers there were now along the edges of the golf course and in the fen areas. The hard work everyone has put in over the years has been really worthwhile. 




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