Chris has been out and about doing exciting things, while I have been sitting in front of a computer............. we thought you would prefer a blog from him.
It has been a great few weeks here at the heart of the inner forth, and I’ve managed to get out to some stunning sites and habitats in the area. It is difficult to see them all though as I quickly find myself on my hands and knees looking at the plants and insects at the car park’s edge – and move slowly on in from there.
I am attempting the gargantuan task of recording everything I find, because although it is always exciting to discover a species that is scarce or rare, without having a good, descriptive list of commoner species (think common nettle, 7-spot ladybirds and field voles) then it will never be possible to monitor whether those species are doing well, suffering a population crash or indeed, taking over the world.
So it is, that I encountered these two reasonably common (but fantastic looking) spiders in the last couple of weeks.
Fig. 1. Long jawed orb weaver spider, (Tetragnatha sp.) and Four-spot orb-weaver (Araneus quadratus) (credit: Chris Knowles)
Recording such a diversity of species means that every day is a bit of a learning curve, so I thought I would share some of that knowledge. Here then, is the first of several plants that are found on saltmarshes, which may be new to some people (including me). This time its the oddly named Common Scurvygrass... oddly I say due to it’s completely un-grass like qualities.
Common Scurvy Grass (Cochlearia officinalis)
The scurvy part of the name refers to the fact that although it is a very bitter tasting plant, until the arrival of citrus fruits in the UK, this plant would be salted and taken aboard ships as its high vitamin C content helped to keep Scurvy at bay.
So folks, have you seen anything interesting around the Forth? Let us know in the comments. Until next time!