Chartley Moss - on 27th May, 2023

Chartley Moss is a very special place that I had visited twice before, and when the opportunity to visit again, under the auspices of a British Dragonfly Society visit in conjunction with Natural England, I grasped it with both hands.

Chartley Moss is a 105.80 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Staffordshire. The area has been designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a Ramsar Convention protected wetland site, and a National Nature Reserve. For safety reasons, there is no access without a permit. 

Chartley Moss is the largest example of a floating peat bog, or schwingmoor, in Britain. A raft of peat about 3m thick floats on a 13m deep lake. Trees growing in the peat sink through the surface and drown as they mature and gain weight. This leaves the dead trunks poking half out of the moss. The sphagnum lawn supports important botanical communities adapted to grow in this hostile environment. These plants in turn support a a large number of invertebrates.

Edge of Chartley Moss showing dead Scots Pines

Some years ago, the naturalist, and British TV personality at that time, David Bellamy, nearly met a sticky end here. The plan was to film him decending through one hole in the bog and coming up through another. The plan was abandoned when he found that the water was so murky that he could not see much beyond the end of his nose. This was lucky for him as, sometime later, it was discovered that there was no connection between the two holes!

A fun thing to do, but only in a safe designated spot, is to jump up and down in rhythm, and watch the adjacent trees sway dramatically.

The main reason for this group visit was to look for White-faced Darter dragonflies as this is, I  believe, one of only three locations in England where they breed.

The meeting time for the group was 10.30. We had a substitute leader from the BDS as the designated leader was seriously ill in hospital, and a substitute from NE as their man was on paternity leave (my best wishes to all). Typically, I forgot to note the names of our leaders but they both did a splendid job.

Access is by a walk up a track across a meadow and then along the course of a disused railway. At one point, one of the group spotted a colourful beetle beside the path.

Red Cardinal Beetle (Pyrochroa serraticornis) - near Chartley Moss

We then descended down to the bog.

We were soon seeing insect life. The area is good for Green Hairstreak butterfly. This one was more than a little worn, but still looked charming.

Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) - Chartley Moss

As we crossed over 'open ground' to get to the first stretch of water, I spotted a rather unusual-looking hoverfly. This was Sericomyia lappona - a bog specialist.

White-barred Peat Hoverfly (Sericomyia lappona) (male) - Chartley Moss

On reaching the water, we soon found numerous White-faced Darters. There were far more than I had seen on my previous two visits. I understand that some of our group witnessed an emergence, but I missed that event. Nevertheless, I found plenty to keep me occupied during my time there.

The White-faced darters I saw were virtually all males. They can be surprisingly cryptic when settled on low vegetation.

White-faced Darter (Leucorrhinia dubia) (male) - Chartley Moss

I did find a mating pair - my only shots that included a female of the species.

White-faced Darter (Leucorrhinia dubia) (male+female in cop) - Chartley Moss

I even took some video of the occasion (I await comments from David) with the fly-by by another White-faced Darter giving some indication of their abundance.

There were a good number of damselflies around, but I was concentrating on the darters as this was a rare opportunity. Here's a damselfly - just to add a bit of variety to form, if not colour!

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) (male) - Chartley Moss

I was soon back to the White-faced Darters, however.

White-faced Darter (Leucorrhinia dubia) (male) - Chartley Moss

When another of those hoverflies appeared, I managed a somewhat better shot of this species.

White-barred Peat Hoverfly (Sericomyia lappona) (male) - Chartley Moss

But then it was back to the darters. 

White-faced Darter (Leucorrhinia dubia) (male) - Chartley Moss

White-faced Darter (Leucorrhinia dubia) (immature male) - Chartley Moss

After just over an hour on site, is was time to head back, as our group leaders needed a lunch break before hosting the 13.00 group. It had been a splendid visit in fine weather. My thanks to our leaders from the British Dragonfly Society and Natural England.

The parking spot was beside a quite busy, and fast-moving, main road, and not the place for a peaceful picnic lunch so, as my journey home would take me past the entrance to Willington Gravel Pits Nature Reserve, I decided to stop there. I didn't enter the reserve, but while I was having my lunch in the car, a Banded Demoiselle was flitting around. Having finished my lunch, I spent a little time with my camera.

Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) (male) - Willington Gravel Pits

It had been an excellent excursion, and I look forward, hopefully, for a return visit at some time in the future.

 

I have recently returned from a four-day stay in Norfolk, during which I shot off just under two and a half thousand frames, so I am going to be busy for a while. I'll try and produce a blog post for about a week's time, but am making no promises!

In the meantime, please take very good care of yourselves and Nature.

Thank you for dropping by - - - - Richard