The Birdfair Plant ID Quiz.

David Roy (BRC/CEH) watches Birdfair staffers trying
the ID quiz with BSBI member Rachel Benskin
Image: L. Marsh 

We were very busy at Birdfair all weekend. Our Plant ID Quiz attracted 35 participants!

We asked people to identify 9 reasonably common wild flowers which are considered indicators of good meadows in Leicestershire. 

They are all Local Wildlife Site criteria species for neutral grasslands in VC55 Leicestershire & Rutland, where the Birdfair took place. 

Many people who do not consider themselves botanists were able to make a pretty good stab at these species, especially when they tried using plant ID keys: we had a small library with us! 

Helen Roy draws the winners with Simon Harrap.
Image: L. Marsh

Author Simon Harrap joined Dr Helen Roy of BRC/CEH when she drew the winners' names at 3pm on Sunday. 

The first prize is a copy of The Vegetative Key to the British Flora (Poland & Clement, 2009) which aims to help you identify 3,000 British plants NOT in flower, within 3 turns of a page.

The second prize is a copy of Simon Harrap's Wildflowers (2013), a photographic guide to 934 British species.

I will be contacting all our entrants in the next few days and notifying the winners about their prizes. 

Geoffrey Hall & Oli Pescott (on right);
John & Monika Walton on left.
Image: L. Marsh

It was lovely to talk to so many local and national BSBI botanists during the three days of Birdfair and to see everybody catching up with old friends and meeting new ones.

John & Monika Walton dropped in for a chat on Sunday, as did as did Geoffrey Hall, fresh from the BSBI recording meeting in Wales. 

He was able to compare notes with BRC's Oli Pescott, who is also an active BSBI member (Oli sits on Records & Research Committee) and has recently returned from recording in the Outer Hebrides.