In contrast to the previous six dry months, March had average rainfall with measurable amounts on 12 days, most notably on 22nd when several hours of steady rain was something we haven’t experienced here for over a year. Despite this, there was minimal recharge of the water-table, my measuring point at the Devil’s Hole dune-slack...
I received a request from Kew Herbarium to collect some specimens of the morels that can be found at the Ainsdale Sand Dunes Reserve. They are recorded as Morcella elata (Black Morel), an uncommon species. A recent European molecular study has revealed some new species. There is a distinct possibility that the Ainsdale dune collections...
http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/m/marshside/about.aspx Marshside is located where the sand dunes of the Sefton Coast give way to the salt-marshes, mud-flats and reclaimed land of the Ribble Estuary.
The driest autumn and winter in living memory continued for the first part of the month with measurable rainfall on only three days up to the 17th. Finally, more normal Atlantic conditions reasserted themselves, with high winds of storm “Doris” rattling in on 23rd. At last, some proper rain fell on each day from 21st...