What happens when you turn six wildlife recorders loose in Leicestershire? More...

Most team-building exercises involve sitting in airless rooms trying to build bridges out of drinking straws across imaginary alligator-infested gorges, or paint-balling contests in Solihul. You may have been unfortunate enough to go on one of these “experiences”. For our annual team-building exercise the NatureSpot Trustees decided to go on manoeuvres at Owston Wood as part of our Mind The Gap campaign. This is a private site which we were able to visit after securing permission from the Forestry Commission, although anyone can visit parts of the site as the Leicestershire Round public footpath runs right through the middle. So what happens when you turn six of the best wildlife brains in Leicestershire (?) loose on a chunk of ancient woodland? We managed to compile an impressive 230 species list covering just about all taxa, including several new species not previously recorded in Leicestershire and Rutland:
 
Bees, Wasps, Ants: 8 species
Beetles: 20 species
Birds: 16 species
Bugs: 3 species
Butterflies: 4 species
Centipedes & Millipedes: 1 species
Craneflies: 1 species
Dragonflies and Damselflies: 3 species
Ferns & Horsetails: 4 species
Flies, Gnats and Midges: 17 species
Grasses, Rushes & Sedges: 27 species
Grasshoppers & Crickets: 2 species
Hoverflies: 17 species
Lacewings & Scorpionflies: 1 species
Mammals: 2 species
Moths: 9 species
Sawflies: 2 species
Slugs & Snails: 3 species
Spiders, Harvestmen, Mites & Ticks: 7 species
Springtails & Bristletails: 4 species
Trees, Shrubs & Climbers: 21 species
Wildflowers: 59 species
Modal sandwich frequency:  Cheese & Pickle (Cheddar branstonii)