SWSEIC Recording Group at Cairnsmore of Fleet, 19th July 2024
Our recording group at Cairnsmore of Fleet NNR was held in partnership with the Kirkcudbrightshire Botany Group where we surveyed The Knee of Cairnsmore, The Clints of Dromore and the area around the visitor centre. The day was rather misty and dreich, but 13 brave souls traversed the site! Despite the poor weather we had one of the best moth catches of the season with nearly 200 moths from three battery-powered traps. Highlights included Welsh Wave Venusia cambrica, Marsh Grey Eudonia pallida and Large Grey Scoparia subfusca.
The conditions otherwise were not ideal for invertebrates so most of our recorders focussed on creating a plant list for three 1 km squares. Notable finds included Few-flowered Sedge Carex pauciflora, Marsh St Johns-wort Hypericum elodes and Perfoliate Pond-weed Potamogeton perfoliatus.
Peter Robinson found a Golden Plover feather, perhaps a suggestion of possible breeding on the site, confirmed with the excellent Featherbase website. Targeted recording of wetland habitats by Bob Merritt made up for our dearth of invertebrate records elsewhere. Paracymus scutellaris (a water scavenger beetle) was a first vice-county record and only a second record for Dumfries and Galloway. Other notable finds included the Nationally Scarce beetle Laccobius atratus, the locally scarce Sphagnum Bug Hebrus ruficeps and the backswimmer Notonecta maculata, a 4th record for D&G.
If you are interested in joining our recording group you can do so here.