This very special day was led by Alan Hartley who has written this report.
Chartley Moss is private land, leased to Natural England. It is a NNR and SSI and is Part of Midlands Meres & Mosses RAMSAR Sites.
The Moss occupies a deep depression overlying Triassic Mercia Mudstone. There are two basins approximately 800m x 350m
A moss "lawn" (principally Sphagnum fallax) covers the one basin. The moss varies between 0 and 3. meters in depth. The water underneath is over 9 meters deep. There are pine and birch wood lands around the edge. The other basin is drier, with heather and a very different flora and fauna.
Eight of us met up by the cars and proceeded to the Moss. The weather was difficult to predict. There had been almost a frost the night before, the clouds built up with a bit of rain.
It's quite a long walk to the area of open water where the dragonflies are, I had hoped for many invertebrates on the way there, however, in the dull conditions we saw very little. At the pool, however, within a few minutes of us being there, the sun came out and White-faced Darters were then everywhere. Annoyingly, unlike other species, they tend to rest on the moss amongst grasses, making it difficult to get a clean shot. The males were clearly chasing each other about and we also saw several mating pairs. As soon as a cloud came, they would vanish, and then up again. It gave the photographers quite a challenge.
There were Round-leaved Sundews and other bog plants to photograph.
They all said how much they enjoyed their day, however, I was disappointed that I couldn't find them more to photograph
Images by Margaret Beardsmore, John Kirkelionis)
For more events to attend go to Nature (rps.org)