Thursday 31 May 2012

Nottingham Catchfly

ARC/Tower Pits - 0745hrs - warm, dry, cloudy, sw2 - After a natter with BP (aka Lord of Hookers- just-off-to-find-another-rarity) in the car park did a circuit of Tower Pits. All the expected birds including cracking views of a Bittern flying around calling, 3 Cuckoos, 2 Hobbies, several Lesser `throats and Marsh Harriers, plus 50 odd Swifts over the tower. At the south end of ARC, from the causeway road, a pair each of Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers and Oystercatchers, and singles of Lapwing and Blackwit.
The shingle ridges across the National Nature Reserve are now covered in a rich array of plants and must be a botanists dream. Nottingham Catchfly is everywhere; so named as, guess what, it was first discovered at Nottingham Castle! The Catchfly bit apparently refers to the flower which opens at nightime to attract moths and other flying insects to its sweet smelling scent and subsequent pollination,  clever stuff a ...

                                         Nottingham Catchfly - "it does what it says on the tin"

                                         Always good to see a healthy creche of geese...

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