On September 10th we have our last walk of the year to the MOD lands at the Freugh. The usual arrangements apply. If you have been before go to the main gate at 2pm. If you haven’t been, and would like to go, give your name and nationality to Jackie by Tuesday.
We have been asked to look for the orchid Irish Lady’s Tresses (Spiranthes romanzoffiana) which is very rare outside Ulster but has made its way to the Western Isles. I’ll bring a picture to the meeting.
The agenda for the meeting of 14th September is as follows. Please feel free to add anything else.
1) Chairman’s welcome, updates and reports
2) Future events and members’ meeting
3) Jackie’s ideas for recording
4) Presentation by Peter Norman on Fungi
5) Members’ finds
6) Date of next meeting
Despite this awful weather I hope you have all had a chance to get out and collect/record/photograph many interesting things. Could you please pass the word around about our group? Several people have said to me, 'If I'd known about it I would have come to that'.
Happy Foraging,
Rena
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The illustrated talk this month by Jim Logan kept us all enthralled. Jim, a retired marine biologist, told us all about the seashells of the Solway Shore. We learned of the different types of seashore and the different inhabitants of each type with fascinating facts about each one from the bivalves living on plankton to the carnivorous dog whelk with its teeth on its tongue! We were shown slides of a great many shells and later were able to handle the actual shells and learn more facts. We saw how to age a shell. One, Arctica islandica, the oldest living animal in the world, can live to 420 years old. Our sample is a youngster being only 40. Jim was very good with the children at the meeting and we have asked him back in August 2010 when he’ll give a talk on life between the tides.
Arctica islandica ©Hans Hillewaert
Spiranthes romanzoffiana
Image © Brett Francis
© Kirkmaiden Natural History Group 2011
