Preparations prepared

The Safari nipped out for an hour this arvo and it turned into a rather productive short half hour. we had intended to go to the nature reserve to have a bash at the 40 or more Northern(?) Marsh Orchids and Common Spotted Orchids that are just coming in to flower. On the way we realised we had to be somewhere else in just short of two hours time so we hauled in to a nearer site to check if there were any Bee Orchids. The area they were in last year has been changed somewhat, the scratty Willows they were growing under have been 'laid' and thick vegetation has grown up around the horizontal stems - we didn't find any but there could be one or two we might have missed hopefully.

A little further along the path is a wet area...aka a bone dry area!...but looking under a piece of wood was a big success.

A couple of small Toads were easily seen

But a tiny bit more searching revealed...

...the jackpot!!!

We put it back in the cool of the long grass and put the wood back in to its original position and as we did we spotted a second Great Crested Newt well hidden in the vegetation.

Then it was off to our appointment - the moth trap is now on...hope it still is in the morning and hasn't been wiped out by the promised rain AND a shed load of Longworth Traps are set, baited and ready to receive their small mammal visitors. Once again we suffered for our art as our arms are now a mass of Bramble thorns and hundreds of tingling Nettle stings.

The Bioblitz kicks off with the emptying of the moth trap at 5am...meet at the main Crematorium gates. After the moths is an early morning bird walk at 6am followed by the most important bit - hot bacon butties courtesy of the Crematorium tea rooms at 8am.

Where to next? See you there!

In the meantime let us know what's tingling in your outback.