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YNU Meeting at Oldstead, June 10th 2000

Some two dozen people attended this YNU (VC62) meeting, on a fine, sunny day. We met outside the village at the bottom of Cockerdale. The party split up into several small groups as we explored the area. There was a good mix of habitats, ranging from marshy fields with wet flushes supporting plants such as Ragged Robin, Meadowsweet and sedges to planted coniferous woodland on the lower slopes with deciduous wood higher up, with both limy and acid soils represented. The plants were very tall and lush, in response to the wet spring we have had. We heard quite a few birds, but I at least saw very few in the thick foliage.

At the top of the woods we came across the Observatory, which was apparently erected in the “first year of Queen Victoria’s reign” according to the rather worn inscription on its face (see right). It was close to here that we found the plant of the day - Chickweed Wintergreen.

At the “de-briefing” in the Black Swan afterwards we were treated to field reports of not only plants and birds, but mammals, slugs & snails, butterflies & moths, and other insects. Several butterfies were seen including Painted Lady (see left: this picture was actually taken at Gilling the day after) and Red Admiral, but no Small Tortoiseshells which are apparently very scarce this year.

I do not have lists of all that was found, but we did record the following:

• Birds
• Plants

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We saw well over 100 species, which I have divided into plants in bud, flower or fruit; plants represented by leaves only; trees & bushes; ferns and horsetails; grasses; and sedges. The lists for grasses and sedges include only those which are easily identifiable or notable, and similarly for the coniferous trees in the planted part of the woods.

The find of the day was Chickweed Wintergreen (Trientalis europaea) (right), a charming little flower only about 3" tall which grows under bracken, but is very patchy in its distribution and not particularly common.

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All photos © copyright 2000 Gill & Adrian Smith

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