Tuesday 16th June 2015 - Teggs Nose Country Park

There is much to see at this varied site, with flower meadows, heath and woodland and the remains of the quarry (shared with young abseilers). It is an exposed site with excellent views over the Cheshire plain, although hazy this evening. It could be cold, wet and windy but fortunately again for us it was a pleasant summer evening, with the dramatic setting sun later on.

The meadows are well maintained by the longhorn cattle:

Longhorn Cow

Above the meadows is a speciality of the site, the Mountain Pansy:

Mountain Pansy (Viola lutea)

A Tortrix moth was seen and a pair of Painted Lady butterflies were very active near the summit.

Birds heard or seen included: Sky Lark, Carrion Crow, Pied Wagtail, Willow Warbler, Wren and Blackbird.

And flora noted: Cow Parsley, Pignut, Daisy, Marsh Thistle, Spear Thistle, Oxeye Daisy, Red Campion, Heather, Bilberry, Common Bird's-foot-trefoil, Red Clover, Gorse, Common Vetch, Bush Vetch, Herb-Robert, Wood Sage, Rosebay Willowherb, Northern Marsh-orchid, Foxglove, Ribwort Plantain, Heath Speedwell, Meadow Buttercup, Intermediate Lady's-mantle, Hawthorn, Tormentil, Heath Bedstraw,
Heath Wood-rush, Sweet Vernal-grass, Quaking-grass, Wavy Hairgrass, Crested Dog's-tail, and Cock's-foot.

Bracken was the dominant fern, but we also saw Lady-fern, Broad Buckler-fern and Male-fern.

The midge, Dasineura urticae, made its presence known in the orange Nettle Gall, present on many nettles by the side of the track returning to the visitor centre.