Blackstonia perfoliata (Yellow-wort)
This time of year as the flowers fade I turn my attention to birds and spent a couple of hours at the former opencast site at Stobswood but the birds present today were the expected species and not ones to set the pulse racing however, the highlight today was not avian as I came across 52 Blackstonia perfoliata plants on the newly planted Birch woodland floor opposite East Stobswood farm near the pools. I have seen these plants at Hauxley but this is new for this site. Unsure of their origin as the soil the woodland is planted on is the spoil from the original fields here which were used as a baffle bank when the opencast was operational so may have come with the trees. On the way home a Red Squirrel crossed the road at Felton Lane.
This Grey Dagger (Acronicta psi) caterpillar was on my plum tree in the garden a couple of weeks ago.
