Kirkcudbrightshire Botany Group at Mabie Forest, 30th April 2026

A group of seven of us gathered at the FLS car park at Mabie Forest and then transferred up to a parking place at Marthrown of Mabie, closer to the monad (NX9371) that we planned to record.

This monad, which had been picked out by Jan because it had no previous botanical records at all, is in the centre of the Mabie Forest planting area. However, it had been clear-felled a while ago and now comprises dry heath vegetation with scattered self-sown trees creating an attractive open habitat. There was a good regrowth of Heather Calluna vulgaris, Cross-leaved Heath Erica tetralix and Bell Heather Erica cinerea, with Bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus which was covered with beautiful pink flowers. Pill Sedge Carex pilulifera was abundant and also in flower, as was Green-ribbed Sedge Carex binervis. The only grass that was already in flower was Sweet Vernal Grass Anthoxanthum odoratum, but Wavy Hair Grass Avenella flexuosa was just emerging and we were able to identify Tufted Hair-grass Deschampsis cespitosa from its characteristic rough leaves and there were also dead heads of Cock’s-foot Dactylis glomerata. Flowering Heath Milkwort Polygala serpyllifolia was a glorious dark blue, but Tormentil Potentilla erecta and Heath Speedwell Veronica officinalis, although present, were yet to show any flowers. A single plant of flowering Bitter-vetch Lathyrus linifolius was found. There were also a good number of woodland spring flowers including Dog Violet Viola riviniana, Wood Sorrel Oxalis acetosella and Primrose Primula vulgaris, possibly indicating that this was partly a woodland area before afforestation.

The habitat was ideal for Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis, with well-spaced trees dotted through the heathland and we were lucky enough to see one doing a parachute flight and hear it singing. We Also heard Green Woodpecker Picus viridis and Cuckoo Cuculus conorus. Malcolm showed us Eyed Ladybird Anatis ocellata and Saxon Wasp Dolichovespula saxonica, and we saw several Bee Flies.

At lunchtime we sat near a flooded stretch of burn which contained a great stand of Bottle Sedge Carex rostrata and afterwards we went in search of the ponds that Bob had mentioned, right on the boundary of the monad. These ponds were a welcome contrast to the dry vegetation we had been walking through, and here we saw both Broad-leaved Pondweed Potamogeton natans and Bog Pondweed P. polygonifolius as well as BulrushTypha latifolia. We were particularly pleased to find an abundance of stonewort Chara sp., most likely Delicate Stonewort C. virgatas, and a specimen was collected to check with Nick Stewart. Malcolm found Hairy Dragonfly Brachytron pratense, a scarce species in Dumfries and Galloway.

 

There followed a long walk back to the car park, but we had the satisfaction of increasing the records for the monad from zero to 119 species.

Sarah White