Chartley Moss NNR

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to visit Chartley Moss, a National Nature Reserve (NNR) in Staffordshire managed by Natural England. It owes its NNR status to being the largest example of a floating peat bog (or Schwingmoor to use the correct terminology!) in Britain. The layers of peat form a huge raft over an underground lake and due to differing thicknesses in this peat layer and a very real risk of getting stuck or even sinking through, the reserve is closed to the public apart from on a handful of occasions each year when guided walks are taken through the reserve. Quite surreal and unnerving is the effect of jumping on the spot on areas where the peat layer is quite thin - the effect on the ground underneath is not dissimilar to that of jumping on a rope bridge, the earth quite literally moving beneath your feet with nearby trees swaying for good measure! Standing still on apparently solid (if damp) ground for too long resulted in water creeping up over the toes of the obligatory wellies, the sphagnum moss underfoot entirely saturated with water. (This all triggered inevitable jokes amongst the group of "making the earth move" and getting "that sinking feeling", all of which the site manager had heard many a time!)

The unique landscape of Chartley Moss NNR

The site has an interesting history. Previously, attempts had been made to drain the site however not realising the mammoth task at hand (i.e. that there was an underground lake), the plans failed. Subsequently, attempts were made to instead turn the site into a forestry plantation and although some trees did make it to maturity (and under current management/restoration work some are still being removed), many others drowned once their roots worked through the peat layers and into the acidic water underneath effectively drowning the trees, either through age and size, or through sinking deeper under their own weight. The effect of their remains leaves an unusual and unique landscape - in the photo above it is impossible to know whether the tree remains which can be seen were their full size, or if these are the tops of larger trees which sank.

The acidic environment is hostile for many species but supports a wide range of specialist plants as well as great numbers of invertebrates. The ‘star species’ at this site is the White-faced darter, a small dragonfly that is rare throughout the UK, this site being its most southerly stronghold (this site has been a donor of dragonfly larvae for reintroductions at other locations). This dragonfly is the subject of Biodiversity Action Plans in both Cheshire and Cumbria with important populations occuring in the highlands of Scotland. The weather was still unseasonably cool and cloudy but was at least dry and fortunately (with help from the site manager and her assistants) we did see some White-faced darters. The only one close enough to photograph was a teneral (meaning newly emerged) female - she hasn’t yet developed the white frons or 'face' which makes this species so distinctive. We were informed that the darters are very good at hiding themselves away when conditions are unfavourable and this appeared to be what they had nearly all done!

White-faced Darter, teneral female

White-faced Darter, teneral female

Tucked away in an old tree stump I made an interesting find - a large longhorn beetle which I subsequently identified as a Two-banded Longhorn Beetle (Rhagium bifasciatum), the body of this beetle being about an inch long. Fortunately s/he was very obliging as the photographers of the group politely took it in turns to take their fill of beetle photos.

Two-banded Longhorn Beetle (Rhagium bifasciatum)

Two-banded Longhorn Beetle (Rhagium bifasciatum)

Alderfly

Spotted close to one of the many pools was an Alderfly - they are lovers of standing water and are another insect which are happy to be photographed, often not rushing to fly off if approached carefully.

The reserve also supports an interesting array of plant life perfectly adapted to the inhospitable conditions such as the insectivorous Sundew. Living in nutrient poor soil it supplements its diet with the occasional insect. Also lovely to see was flowering wild cranberry. Bilberry which is abundant on the site supports a good population of beautiful Green Hairstreak butterflies, though with cool cloudy weather, the only one I saw had been spotted (and netted for observation) by one of the helpers on the walk.

Certainly a unique reserve and one I would love to visit again given the opportunity.

Wild Cranberry flower (left) and Sundew (right)