2024 County Report for Cambridgeshire

Jonathan Shanklin

2024 was another year with a lot of recording in the county, though there are still many under-recorded monads, particularly in the north of the county. 38,066 records were added to the DDb, with 3,750 made using the recording app, largely in a testing mode and 34,362 entered into MapMate. In the holding areas there are also 1176 records for iNaturalist, 543 for iRecord, 850 for NYPH and 8 for NPMS. Verification of records in the holding areas has started on the iRecord platform, but getting them into the DDb is delayed pending resolution of the transfer issues.

 

The usual annual update of the county Register of Plants of Conservation Concern (RPCC) was made at the beginning of the year, informed by these records.  A second update was made mid year following publication of revised NR and NS status lists and species listed as in severe decline in Britain added. Most of the latter are still common in the county.

 

The Cambridge Natural History Society (CNHS) covered TL45J, where the BSBI local change project had drawn me into botany. Despite this being one of the best recorded tetrads in the country with around 945 species, new species were still discovered of which perhaps the most interesting was Saxifraga granulata (Meadow Saxifrage), though its status was a little ambiguous, most likely an accidental introduction.

 

Alan Leslie (Emeritus Recorder) compiled a report on the more interesting finds of 2023 for the local journal Nature in Cambridgeshire, with a summary in the 2024 county newsletter. He will be compiling a report on 2024 highlights, which will appear in the 2025 newsletter. These are likely to include the appearance of Orchis simia (Monkey Orchid) in a College garden and Digitalis ferruginea (Rusty Foxglove) on a rural field margin, albeit close to a cottage. Perhaps the prettiest find was Galeopsis speciosa (Large-flowered Hemp-nettle) found with Stachys arvensis (Field Woundwort) along a drove margin whilst visiting under-recorded monads.

 

A full programme of approximately monthly Cambridgeshire Flora Group meetings took place from March to October.  In addition, the CNHS field meetings invariably included botanical recording. The 2024 county newsletter circulated news, meeting reports and excursion plans to the local botanical community.  A county web page was maintained, and emails were sent to local botanists in advance of meetings.  I took part in two County Wildlife Sites panel meetings as the botanical expert and accompanied the local Wildlife Trust’s Conservation Officer on some site visits. I provided records in response to inquiries; these vary from wanting to know where to find a particular plant, to species lists for sites or areas.