Amongst the DaisiesWe welcomed back some old members whom we hadn’t seen 
Bee Orchid for a while as well as a couple of new faces who added an international flavour to this week’s full minibus group as we headed out East for a trip to Sherburn and Skipwith.
It was the group’s first visit to Sherburn Willows, a YWT reserve on the Magnesian limestone where we enjoyed a pre-prandial walk along the banks and in the ‘marshy’ area (at present almost dry) before having lunch in lovely sunshine. We had to leave too early but before we did enjoyed a variety of limestone plants, including common spotted orchid, southern marsh orchid, bee orchid and purple milk-vetch. The illusive sainfoin remained so! The marsh area provided common meadow rue, meadowsweet and various sedges.
We then moved on to Skipwith Common, a National Nature Reserve and SSI which is based on an old RAF airfield and is 50% woodland and 50% lowland heath with a rich flora and fauna.
Whitethroat In Full Song 
Piri Piri BurrThe plants included piri piri burr allegedly introduced by New Zealand aircrew who used the base during the Second World War and which is now abundant. The site is too large to allow full exploration in the time available to us so perhaps another visit will allow us to see the great crested newts, common lizards, grass snakes and adders which inhabit the reserve.
In the day we recorded 118 flowering plants, 20 birds including yellowhammer and a calling tawny owl, ten butterfiles including brimstone, ringlet and small heath and cinnabar and six-spot burnet moths.
Stuart