Making it count: Nature spotting at Doxey Marshes

Not too long ago I was lucky to host a nature counting event at the beautiful Doxey Marshes, a truly wild place on the outskirts of Stafford’s urban sprawl.

I was joined by six keen and enthusiast locals – thank you to all that came along to help. We set off onto the reserve equipped with binoculars, sweep nets and bug pots to begin our eagle-eyed mission to find as much nature as possible.

We enjoyed the fresh natural minty smell filling the air thanks to the nearby water mint as we delighted at spotting a cattle egret living up to its name! It was perched on the rump of our grazing cattle! Throughout the day we check various parts of the site, and chatted to visitors about what we were doing.

To say the day was a success is an understatement. We counted over 180 species! This includes 129 records logged on the iNaturalist app, over 20 species contributed by The Wildflower Society (who were also hosting a walk on the same day), and 34 species from a written list by myself and Lisa Williams, a very knowledgeable local entomologist.

Some special highlights include:

A small green/brown grasshopper sits on a persons upturned palm

Lesser marsh grasshopper by Charlie Forrest-King

A small red/black long bodied beetle with wings sits on a strand of brown grass

Red malachite beetle by Charlie Forrest-King

An area of potted lichen covering a branch. It grows in green/yellow hues

Golden shield lichen by Charlie Forrest-King

A red bushy/feathery growth on a stem of a plant

Robins pincushion gall by Charlie Forrest-King

Lesser marsh grasshopper - Likes damp sites, especially those that flood seasonally, so Doxey is perfect for them!
Red malachite beetle - A beautiful bright beetle, and a first for most who saw it!
Golden shield lichen - It's not all cute toads and inverts! The details on lichens are amazing, and this is a good starter species, as it can be commonly found
Robins pincushion gall - Caused by a tiny gall wasp that lays its eggs in dog-rose. The plant reacts forming the gall around the wasps eggs, which protects them. The gall is also food for the wasps' larvae when they hatch!

A bright green beetle sits on a green leaf

Hawthorn shield bug nymph (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale). This is an instar - a moulted stage. Shieldbugs don't have a pupal stage, but instead molt through various adult like instars until they are fully grown.

A tiny brown baby toad sitting in a plastic container

European toadlet (Bufo bufo). So cute! The were so many of these babies amongst the grasses.

Other highlights (with no photos) include seeing lapwings, house martins, and barn swallows flying over head, and great white egrets passing by. There were also lots of butterflies, and dragonflies - banded demoiselle was a particular favourite!

My family are very much into nature, so I was delighted that my husband and sister were able to join in the event and help with our counting efforts. Here’s a photo of my sister Adele holding her first ever grasshopper. She was very excited as she caught it herself in the bug pot!

A woman with long brown hair and glasses stands in a rural area holding out her hand with a tiny grasshopper sitting on it. She smiles and looks very happy. She holds a bug pot and wears a black top.

These bioblitz events are a great way to get into recording nature, as help is always on hand if you get stuck with anything or just need a bit of support getting started. If you missed this year’s count, do keep an eye out as we’ll hopefully repeat it again next summer!

Citizen science like this is so important to help us understand if our management of the reserve is supporting certain species. It also evidences why we need spaces like this. It’s vital we do all we can to give nature a chance at a time when it's under direct threat from changes to planning laws.