Sundews and Dragons

Catherton Common and Cramer Gutter 
Wednesday 12th August 2015

Although Catherton Common is not one of the easier sites to get to there are several ways to get there. We chose to go from Telford via Bridgnorth then drop more or less due south from Cleobury North. All was going well until we left the main road at Cleobury North. The roads began to shrink until they were barely wider than the car. 

Of course this is not a problem unless one meets someone coming the other way. After a few miles we did – a refuse collection lorry. Very fortunately it appeared heading in our direction when we were by a farm yard and were able to nip off the road into the yard and let it pass. Phew! The omens were good; we knew it was going to be a good day!

Eleven of us gathered at the roadside by the Shropshire Wildlife Trust’s information plaque for Catherton Common on a very warm sunny day. After the usual pre-walk chatter and some half-hearted searching around the cars we set off in the direction I indicated to pick up the stream that runs along the north-west edge of the site. Well nine of us did, two went off at an angle. And of those nine, two more disappeared rapidly into the far distance and were not seen again until nearly lunchtime. The rest of us dawdled and meandered our way towards the stream.

The land here was very dry and dominated by heather species with a scattering of birch trees and scrub. An early find was the Yellow Swamp Bittergill Russula claroflava, a yellow fungus which is associated with birch in damp habitats, so normally it is a lot wetter here than on our visit. 

Needless to say this colourful fungus attracted a lot of attention and required youthful dexterity to get a decent photograph. 

The majority of us continued on our way (I have no idea what the others were up to but they are adults and, in theory, capable of looking after themselves) towards the stream - by the distant trees in the first photograph.

On the way we noticed the web of a labyrinth spider. 

The spider builds a dense flat web and a funnel like retreat (just about discernible towards the top right hand corner in the above photograph) where, in a labyrinth of tunnels, you would find the spider’s egg sac.

It was coffee time by the time we reached the stream. As some partook of this or a similar beverage others continued to look around finding many more examples of the yellow fungus. What we did not find was the stream! We did find a gully where the stream would be normally. And, if you looked carefully you could see some water, a trickle.

Undeterred we pressed on following the “stream’s” course downhill along the edge of the reserve. The nature of the vegetation changed, grasses and allies became more dominant and the oak trees replaced the birch. Carrying on, the ground started to get squelchier and squelchier as we moved into a boggy area. The trickle had grown imperceptibly as we had progressed and was now a small stream.

We lingered here for a long time. And as if by magic all the “errant” members of the group joined us, such was the draw of this spot. Amongst the vegetation we found several sundews: 

At least two species of dragon fly were patrolling. One was a Keeled skimmer. This was a bit of a tease, as it occasionally appeared to pose for photographs but, as you moved in for that special picture, flew away, only to return a few minutes later, not to the same spot but a few feet away.

The other noticeable dragonfly here was a stunning Golden-ringed dragonfly which was ovipositing in the water. Unfortunately I only saw this in flight so was unable to photograph it. 

Next we stumbled across a giant horsefly Tabanus sudeticus. This impressive insect was about an inch long and, thankfully for us, seemed uninterested in human blood.

Lunch, normally a social affair, just happened as we investigated this area.

We moved on. We found a reptile tile and underneath (how can you resist lifting them up) were two Slow worms.

The going was getting tougher with uneven ground, tall heather, and, more threateningly, tall gorse. But we still kept our eyes open for things of interest. A Bog bush-cricket was plucked from a gorse bush (and released unharmed):

And we found a Blue bug. Unfortunately a spider had found it first and added it to its larder:

We eventually made it through the wild terrain and entered Cramer Gutter. It was hot, there was no breeze, and we were a little tired from our efforts, so this second reserve only received a short perusal rather than our usual intensive effort before we decided to call it a day and return to the cars and home.

Another excellent day in an excellent site was capped off with refreshments in nearby Cleobury Mortimer.

My thanks to Shropshire Wildlife Trust for giving us permission to do what we do and, of course, the members of the group who came along to make the day what it was.

Keith Fowler