This is two different bogs on two different days – Jamie is on Coom Rigg National Nature Reserve and SSSI in the middle of Kielder Forest a couple of weeks ago. We are working with Marjorie in Natural England to develop a model to measure temporal and spatial change in bog quality using satellite images. Here he is is collecting data for its development and his dissertation on this pretty high quality bog.
Sam is on a restored bare peat site, where we are working with the North Pennines AONB, on a replicated block experiment, testing phosphorus and lime requirements used in restoration. She came for a fun day out adding to her plant ID skills. She learnt, as it turned out, how to identify very dried up moorland mosses – among other things.
We watched a golden plover circling over us in the morning. This then became 10, then 20 and soon there were nearly 200 plover gathering and calling before they spent the rest of the day feeding on a patch of heather 100 yards from us. Wonderful – golden plover might be my favourite bird.