BBC Wildlife - UK 2020-07)

Ainars Aunins/Alamy

20 BBC Wildlife July 2020

WILDJULY

Common

butterwort

Thisinsectivorousplant

hasa purpleflower,which

appearsona singlestalk

betweenMayandJuly,but

itsbasalrosetteofleavesis

arguablymoreobvious,as

they’rebrightyellow-green

andremarkablystarfish-

like.Theleavesarecovered

ina stickyfluidthatattracts

unsuspectinginsects,

slowlycurlingaroundtheir

preybeforedigestingit.

Bogasphodel

Spikesofsulphur-yellow,

star-likeasphodelflowers

brightenuppeatbogs

inearlysummer,before

turninga distinctiveshade

ofdeeporangeinautumn.

Once,theplantwasknown

asthe‘bonebreaker’,

becauseit wasthought

thatlivestockgrazingon

it developedbrittlebones;

however,calcium-poor

pasturesweretheissue.

Largeheath

Despitetheoddname,

thisspecialistbutterfly

is athomeinbogs,not

heathland.It hasthree

forms found in dierent

partsofBritain.Thelargest

populationis confinedto

thebogsofnorthernand

westernBritain,andflies

fromlateJunetoearly

August.Asit restswith

wingsclosed,theelusive

insect’supperwingpattern

is revealedonlyinflight.

White-faced

darter

Onthewingfromlate

Maytomid-July,this

dashingdarterhasa

distinctivewhitefacein

themale,whichprovides

a boldcontrastwiththe

black-and-redthoraxand

abdomen.Thespeciesis

restricted to peaty pools

intheScottishHighlands

anda fewEnglishoutposts,

whereyoumightspotthe

malesholdingterritoryor

baskingonsunnydays.

Commonhawker

Widespreadthroughout

thebogsofnorthern

andwesternBritain,the

commonhawkeris a large,

fastandpowerfuldragonfly,

happiestonthewing.

Themale’sabdomenhas

pairedbluespots– those

oftheless-conspicuous

femaleareyellow.Adults

starttoemergeinearly

July,andcanberecorded

rightuptothefirst frosts

of autumn.

1 RSPBForsinardFlowsisquite

comfortablythecharity’slargest

reserve,covering21,000haofprime

blanketbogrealestateintheheart

of Scotland’s Flow Country.

2 MoorHouse, otherwiseknownas

theUpperTeesdaleNationalNature

Reserve,boastsanalmostcomplete

rangeofuplandhabitatstypicalof

theNorthPennines.It hasextensive

blanket bog below the high fells.

3 RSPBLakeVyrnwyinMidWales

ispartoftheBerwynSpecialAreaof

Conservation,whichcontainsthe

largestblanketboginWales.Large-

scalebogrestorationis proving a

great success here.

4 CranmerePoolliesinDevon,in

thenorthernsectionofDartmoor

NationalPark.Itsbogshostthe

world’smostsoutherlybreeding

population of dunlins.

5 GarronPlateau, CountyAntrim,

isthelargestareaofintactblanket

boginNorthernIreland.Thisisthe

onlyIrishlocationforplantssuch

as marsh saxifrage and bog orchid.

O Don’tgowithout: Julyisprime

midgeseasonintheScottish

Highlands,soif you’reouton

a peatbog,particularlyona

windlessday,a hatand

insectrepellentare

essentialif youdon’t

fancy being bitten.

Thegoodnewsis thatblanketbogstill

coversaround2.25millionhectaresof

theUK.Sadly,a hugeamounthaseither

beendegradedorentirelylost.Though

peatcuttinghasgoneonforthousands

ofyearswithminimalimpact,inrecent

decadestherehasbeenextractiononan

industrialscale.Moreover,government

taxincentivesinthe1970sand1980s

ledtothespreadofcommercialforestry,

and bogs that had remained treeless for

thousandsofyearsweresuddenlydrained

andplantedupwithconifers.

It hasbeencalculatedthattheworld’s

peatlands,despitecovering3 percentof

itslandarea,holdnearly 30 percentofall

terrestrialcarbon.Asa result,considerable

effortis nowbeingputintothescience

ofbogrestoration.Byremovingnon-

nativeconifersandblockingdrains,the

landscapecanbe‘rewetted’andwildlifeis

returningto placeswhereit hasnotbeen

recordedindecades.

Whenvisitingblanketbogs,remember

thatmanyofthemexperiencefour

seasonsinoneday,eveninhighsummer,

socomepreparedforanymeteorological

eventuality.And,assphagnumlawnscan

betreacherous,stickto the well-trodden

routes or boardwalks.

Theworld’speatlands,

despitecovering 3 per

centofitslandarea,

holdnearly 30 percent

of all terrestrial carbon.

CHOICE LOCATIONS

4

5

3

2

1

SPECIES TO LOOK OUT FOR

Malewhite-faced

dartershave

strikingred-and-

black coloration.