Meeting report
9 of us met at the RSPB Nagshead Reserve car park on this dull November day, optimistically hoping that the weather would be better than the forecast. It transpired that new member Rafik, along with his mum Ambreena, had travelled from Cardiff by bus the day before, and stayed in Parkend overnight. Now that is dedication!
We set off through the conifers, pointing out some of the common species to new members Sam and Rafik (Thuidium tamariscinum, Eurhynchium striatum, Kindbergia praelonga, Pseudoscleropodium purum, Polytrichum formosum…). And the rain started.
Along a small stream through the woods we picked up Calypogeia arguta and Pellia epiphylla, managing to find a thallus with both male and females for the latter. And the rain continued…
In the deciduous woodland beyond the stream, Alan and Marion managed to find some Lepidozia reptans and Tetraphis pellucida, and there was a lovely patch of Orthodontium lineare growing on the side of a rotting log. Finds like this were hard to come by however, especially as we were all dripping wet by now and everyone’s glasses and lenses were steamed up.
We stopped for lunch uncharacteristically late for our group – 12.45 – and fortunately the rain stopped too. After lunch we decided to head straight for a quarry we’d seen on the map. Sadly, it didn’t really live up to our hopes, and the only species of interest here was Isothecium alopecuroides, which it was good to compare with the abundant I. myosuroides we’d been seeing all day.
And then the rain started again… By unanimous decision, we decided it was time to call it a day and head back to the car park.
Despite the weather, everyone seemed to enjoy the day, and the company was very congenial.
The Bryophyte of the day was actually an uninspiring-looking Campylopus flexuosus candidate later identified by Pete Martin as Dicranum montanum. Apologies to those who didn’t see this, but it really didn’t look noteworthy at the time!
Claire Halpin, November 2022
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