Just recording

Two of us set out to record as much of a 1km square as we could last week. We saw and recorded plenty but also learnt about Brecnockshire terrain and its quirks - two blocked footpaths meant some backtracking and no time to complete the task in Dyrysiog wood (a Brecknock Wildlife Trust Reserve). But that I can finish in the spring when there will be some species not even visible now to add. You go up and down a lot even in a 1 km square in an area such as the one we chose with hedgerows giving way to bracken-dominated common as you climb.

Devil's-bit Scabious was in full flower as it is in many places in the county at present.

Succisa pratensis, Devil's-bit Scabious

The sticky groundsel in Brecon Car park is still putting on a good show:

And back at Dyrysiog we spotted this without going into the reserve (it was by where we parked). David Mitchel tells me it is Cystolepiota hetieri "which is unusual but I find it a reasonable bit in this area". David will be leading a fungal foray for Brecknock Wildlife Trust on 20th October in Priory Woods (Brecon).

Lastly - look out for the displays of Cyclamen hederifolium on many verges in villages. They may be escaped from gardens but are well-established everywhere.