It is a long way to south-west Shropshire from Telford but, as I was being chauffeured, I was able to enjoy the excellent scenery on the way down, remembering that I was also being a human sat nav.
We were a few minutes late getting to the meeting point, but we were the first there. Or so we had thought as two other cars approached from the opposite direction having overshot the parking spot.
Eventually, eleven of us gathered under disappointingly leaden but non-threatening skies and moved on to the site. Well two of us did, but the others seemed reluctant to move.
Perhaps they were wary of the cattle on the site, one of which was keeping an eye on our progress.
Whatever the reason the rest joined us and started to look at the site and for insects, birds, flowers and other things of interest.
“Which way?” I was asked. I pointed to my left. The questioner took note and made his way in the indicated direction, but the others went the other way – towards the cattle!
The cattle, however, after their initial interest, ignored us and continued to feed, moving slowly towards the road.
Mason’s Bank is a Shropshire Wildlife Reserve. Their information states that it was an ancient heath that was planted with conifers in the 1960s. The trees were felled at the turn of this century and the heather and bilberry has made a welcome return.
Many of the stumps have become their own little nature reserves covered in lichens and other small plants and bordered by heather, grass, bilberry and the less welcome bramble.
And with lots of dead trees we get lots of the familiar dead wood fungus - Sulphur tuft.
The cattle continued to eat and move slowly but inexorably towards the road and the gate. We were blissfully unaware of their tactics.
Several Fox moth larvae were located.
Very little standing deadwood was left but one such trunk was covered in lichen, one of which is probably the scarce Usnea florida.
Lunch time approached and there were plenty of tree stumps providing natural seats for us. But you had to be careful as some of the stumps although looking solid were soft as they had rotted internally and would collapse if sat on.
It was then we realised that the cattle had executed a cunning plan and circled round behind us cutting off our retreat. We were trapped!
Most of us had carried our lunch with us but one had left his in the car. He set off. Would he get through? Would the cattle repel his attempts to get his food?
We lost interest and ate our lunches.
He returned a few minutes later, unscathed, sandwich in hand. The cattle had just moved away when he approached them.
After lunch we left the site and crossed the road to follow the footpath to a neighbouring gulley. This was very different habit being much wetter, with water gathering from wet ground and forming into a stream. This area proved very productive for the insect spotter, and also provided many perching points on which to sit and take in the view or to have a few minutes of quiet contemplation.
So another wonderful day out came to an end as we made our way back to the cars then home. One final pleasure was the sight of a Red Kite as we drove along.
Keith Fowler
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