NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

At the back end of 2014 I posted my 'Top Ten Natural History Moments', the result of a trawl through my notebooks that I had kept since 1974. It was an enjoyable exercise. Five years have elapsed since then - but in that timeframe have I got another ten moments of natural history joy to share with you? You bet. So here they are, in descending order... 10. Clover-fest at Dungeness In May 2018 I was staying at Dungeness Bird Observatory, spending a great deal of time in the company of Jacques Turner-Moss, the assistant warden at DBO. He was a delight to be with, a down-to-earth, unassuming and most talented naturalist. He had taken a keen interest in the plants that grew on the shingle, and when he became aware of my wish to track down Clustered Clover - a species of plant that had always evaded me - he was up for joining me in my quest. First of all we travelled to the northern end of the Littlestone sand dunes, an area known to hold this species. A good couple of hours was...

Although any stay at Dungeness will be primarily focused on birds, it would be foolhardy not to pay attention to the splendid flora on offer - here are a few tasters... Clustered Clover - a new species for me, and 're-discovered' close to the observatory Bird's-foot - there was a fine show on the sand at Littlestone Sand Catchfly - happy to flower in the hundreds close to beach huts and holidaymakers Annual Knawel - underwhelming, un-showy, yet a firm favourite of mine, at Littlestone Burrowing Clover - if you are at Dungeness, look down - it is all over the peninsula Sheep's Sorrel - literally millions of plants turn the grassland red Thrift - on the western side of the point can be found extensive drifts

I started off the morning by visiting Blake's Pond on Epsom Common, a charming small waterbody that looks as if it has a touch of the past about it. I can imagine that geese, horses and Victorian raggamuffins used to poach its edges to enable all sorts of good plants to survive. Most of these agents of disturbance have gone now, replaced by dogs and Elizabethan raggamuffins who deposit empty cider bottles into the water instead. All is not lost however - there is still a fine selection of plants present, hence my visit. First target was Adder's-tongue, which evaded me even though I carefully checked all of the cleared areas around the edge. Next I examined the flowering Water Crowfoot, expecting Common (R. aquatilis) but seemingly finding Pond (R. peltatus). The floating leaves were not deeply lobed (see picture) and the petals on the flower were 11-12 mm long (they should be shorter than 10mm on Common apparently). So, have I got it wrong or are both species present? Any h...

Knotted Clover - in good number Birdsfoot - I've never seen so much Burrowing Clover - hidden amongst the dwarf vegetation Annual Knawel - still going strong As you leave Reigate on the A25 heading towards Dorking, you will see a cricket pitch on your left hand side, flanked on one side by a row of chocolate-box cottages. This is the edge of Reigate Heath. Now park up and walk towards the bus stop that you can clearly see not 100m away. Now turn towards the cricket square and walk no more than 10m. At your feet you will find a marvellous selection of all the plants pictured above. If you carry on further, maybe another 70m, you will start to find Chamomile. All of these are diminutive plants in stature and all are doing well if todays visit is anything to go by. Maybe they all like dry springs followed by a wet, cooler spell. But hurry - they can all be burnt off if the sun returns!