To celebrate the number of observations on the Danes Moss Nature Reserve reaching over 10,000 recorded entries we’re exploring why observing and recording species is important and how we want to encourage more people to get involved in this “citizen science” activity.
Supporters of Danes Moss are well aware of the importance of the site as a unique habitat for a huge variety of species. But did you know that mainly over the last four years there have been nearly 1,800 separate species recorded across the whole of Danes Moss and over 10,000 observations are now recorded on inaturalist? The vast majority of these records are from Danes moss North, the area under threat of development.
inaturalist links through to the local records database automatically which means they are returned in searches when environmental reports are created as part of any plans for development.
Many people know that the Moss is a local stronghold for the Willow Tit, Britain’s most endangered resident bird species. In fact, 100 of the species identified are rare and have some form of legal protection (the Large Flowered Hemp Nettle pictured below is redlisted in the UK). As well as the Willow Tit these include Grasshopper Warbler, Dingy Skipper and Small Heath butterfly. There are now well over 400 moth species recorded onsite, new species are still regularly being found. Many of these are legally protected such as the Ghost Moth and this accounts for one third of all moth species recorded throughout Cheshire. Of the 28 species of butterfly known to breed in Cheshire, 25 of these have been recorded on Danes Moss and 23 of these were recorded on the proposed development area of Danes Moss North. The latest of these being Essex Skipper. The mating shield bugs pictured at the top of this blog are Forest Bugs (Pentatoma rufipes).
A total of 107 bird species have been recorded across Danes Moss mainly over the last five years. These are recorded on the ebird hotsport here. These compose of another 10,000+ wildlife records in addition to those already on inaturalist. Save Danes Moss regularly upload these records to the local records database to ensure these are also visible on environmental reports created for any development plans.
We know about all these species creating this richly diverse wildlife habitat because of the dedicated local enthusiasts who give their time, expertise and experience to observing and recording wildlife. In the last two years alone 18 people have made 2,500 research-grade observations of wildlife on the proposed development area of Danes Moss North, resulting in significant contributions to the Cheshire County Records. All observations are supported by independently verified photographic records of species, with dates and GPS data.
25 birders have created over 500 checklists on ebird, mainly over the last 5 years.
Species and biodiversity surveys are a critical part of maintaining and enhancing this richly diverse wildlife habitat. Surveying provides not only invaluable information on what is present on a site it can also tells us about how abundant it is, and over time if there is more or less of a certain species on the site. Considered in a wider regional or national context surveying can tell us something about whether certain species are changing their location, habitat or migratory patterns, often in response to a changing climate or changes to land use and development elsewhere. All of this information is essential to making informed decisions about conservation and how to avoid damage to habitats or species.
Insects in particular are much more sensitive to climate change, this can be seen on Danes Moss were new species have spread northwards in the UK in recent years. Roesel’s Bush Cricket is an example of this, they are now found on Danes Moss.
Observing and surveying species is also an exciting and engaging educational activity. With its location in the town, Danes Moss offers a unique habitat for local people of all ages to experience a huge variety of wonderful and unique species, including birdlife, butterflies, moths, plants and all manner of bugs and insects. Our educational work with schools and groups supports this and in the summer we ran our first family event, teaching techniques to record the flora and fauna of Danes Moss. We are planning to deliver more of these opportunities to support local people to undertake this “citizen science” and be part of the work to understand and conserve Danes Moss.
Keep an eye out for further opportunities to support “citizen science” on Danes Moss in future newsletters. And in the meantime you can enjoy our news on interesting and rare finds with our “Species of the Month”. We will have more blogs coming looking at particular species over the autumn / winter months and if you want to find out more about what has already been observed on Danes Moss look at the links below.
- iNaturalist provides an invaluable online platform to support identification and contribute essential data to science and conservation. You can see records for the whole of Danes Moss here and for the proposed development area on Danes Moss North here
- The site ebird performs a similar function but specifically for birds
- Both of these sites are a great resource to help anyone with identifying species for recreational wildlife observation, they are also both free to create an account to join in with submitting records on Danes Moss!
