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Bodmin moor, habitat search.


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O.K One of my early morning walks on Bodmin Moor ( encouraged by BobH and Woz!!)..I know there is a peat bog approx on the left where hill gradients decrease.. the area is scrub/fern but on reading about moorland I am led to believe there may be other bog areas to look for in this vicinity. Now I know there are moor/peat bog experts on the forum as well as the CPS and I also know (or am told by a local) that there may be types of pinguicular around, I am banking more on the drosera but that is the idea of looking at habitats

bodminpan2ie.th.jpg.

So essentialy...what is the best place to look...there is a lot of land and even a small area takes an entire morning to reach and study..also due to the start of the rivers there surely would be seed dispersal to look for? the picture is a 360 panorama collage..

Thank you all...maybe even some are familiar with the moor in question..it is by the way south of the A30 top right hand corner if that makes sense!

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Guest Aidan

Look for Sphagnum and/or exposed areas of peat in the wetter areas. There you will likely find Drosera. Utricularia can be near impossible to spot unless in flower, which they will be at this time of year. Look in pools or slow moving areas of shallow water.

Anyone got a UK Flora to hand?

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Hi Aidan thanks for replying , Info I have been looking at 'suggests'there would be upper areas of bog unrelated to the moving streams. also the local chap who indicated that one of the bogs was directly above my house approx 3/4 mile onto the moor, and that this bog feeds the streams for the local rivers. he gave the bog as certain name and also warned that many animals disappear regularly...I think that it will be a case of stumbling upon certain places as my idea of taking a general panorama of the site may not be detailed enough..UK flora...identifying possible ground cover for likely habitats?...I will have a look on the net.Thanks Aidan.

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sounds like there may be an area of blanket bog in this area then. this is a common type in upland areas and will have a mixed vegetation dominated by heathers (ling, bell heather and esp. cross-leaved heath in wetter areas). look for the cross-leaved heath, pale pink flowers on the tips of greyish, coarsely hairy-leaved stems, as it only gows in wet areas, also cotton grass is a good indicator, look for the white tops. bog asphodel is another, yellow flowers at this time of year. as Aidan said you are likely to find Drosera in areas with Sphagnum and on the edges of pools, poss Utriics in the pools. I will check my plant atlas next time I'm in the office for which spp.

a tip, don't walk on areas which are pure sphagnum with no other vegetation, as these may be ponds which have grown over; take a big stick and prod any areas in front of you first if unsure, esp if you are on your own! If there is heather in with the Sphagnum you are usually OK to walk on it.

You generally wont find Pinguicula in these Sphagnum bog areas. they prefer basic flushes on the whole, so look beside streams and for linear "streaks" of shorter vegetation on slopes which often have a greyish tinge to them due to the presence of sedges (Carex). also look just below the break in a slope, where there are often seepage lines with flush vegetation. You may get P.lusitanica down there as well...

hope this helps

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Exellent Stephen.. just what I was after...I carry a stick all the time here...a very useful thing to have...that was the problem when walking these places on my own, takes time as you are always prodding the area in front, apparently the bog has a surface tension to walk on but if you stop or jump then sinking is a possibility...sounds like the blanket /sphagnum bog you refer to. Will plan another journey for Sunday or monday..as soon as wellies have dried out!!

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Stream sides are always a good place to look. There is a very nice spot on the road across Dartmoor, where the general habitat looks very similar to this. There I have seen Drosera rotundifolia and intermedia, Pinguicula vulgaris and lusitanica. Also quite a range of other nice species.

I doubt you will find much of interest on the drier areas bog covered in heather and bracken - as Stephen says look for the wetter areas by the plant species. If you find streams it's probably worth following them uphill, as they may well be draining the wetter areas described by Stephen.

Giles

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Hi Stephen.

I was out the other day, in a place called Swiss-Valley looking for CP's, plenty of Sphagnum moss all over, but that's about all. All in all, have a great day, and I also hope you get some great pics for us all to see.

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Thanks Stephen, Was on the moor early this morning..some nice pics of balancing stones but the cotton grass did not yield any interest, Beaten back by wrong footwear this morning but looking for specific bog indicators seems to be bringing me closer...the only problem now is that if this marsh by me isnt inhabited with cp's then it will be a five mile hike across three tors for the next.

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  • 1 month later...

Another trip to the Moor the other day and a moody photo of the bell tower of my church..

It was a fine morning and the mist luckily was still there by 7:30 am.

moodychurch0le.th.jpg

Strangely enough it was a glorious day! :tu:

This trip was beneficial as I had bumped into a farmer who indicated the location of the bog I am after.. next photo's will be when I have scoured the area. :tu:

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  • 1 month later...

Just a quick update.. located the bog and found the sphagnum..

bog.JPG

sphag1.JPG

then by chance few small drosera.. are they intermedia? or perhaps rotundifolia? will take other photo's at my leisure now I know where to look...

boddrosera.JPG

Mind you it is a bit un-nerving studying the area.. one minute you are exited about a patch of bog and your route has disappeared..

The area is breathtaking though and I am looking forward to a lot more time in the area. It will be interesting to watch the seasons progression.

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Thanks Stephen, I put your pointers to use!! :shock: only had a limited time there so I am looking forward to a more detailed study of the area, I thought I had found some utrics but I am not sure.. the leaves were irregular...as I said time was short but look forward to another stroll up there.....a fascinating place worthy of recognition!! :(

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  • 7 months later...

a few pictures of this mornings moor walk:

Journey through the wood.

D1.jpg

In the middle of the colony,

D4.jpg

close ups of emerging flowers.

D3.jpg

My first orchid find...

D7.jpg

And a close up before the adder 'ad 'me :D

D2.jpg

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