For those of you not familiar with Lielowan Meadow, the reserve is adjacent to the B914 a few miles west of junction 4 of the M90. Lielowan Meadow is an all too rare example of unimproved grassland. Management of the reserve consists primarily of grazing at appropriate times of the year. Previously this has been rather 'hit and miss' but last autumn our own flying flock had their first taste of Lielowan and did a very good job of clearing the year’s growth of vegetation. Along with some strimming earlier in the year the thorough grazing appears to have noticeably reduced the thistles, which are becoming invasive over some areas of the reserve.

Last July a small party visited Lielowan. Gordon Corbet was with us and took the opportunity to trap a number of invertebrates to add to the list of fauna for the reserve. We had a look for Salad Burnet, which is a noted species on the reserve as it is near the northern limit of its range, but it was rather late in the year to see it at its best. There has been some concern in previous years that the population of this plant was in decline on the reserve but there appeared to be quite a healthy growth this spring.

While at Lielowan we also took the opportunity to explore the disused limestone quarry across the road to the north of the reserve. This feature is partly responsible for the high floral diversity on the reserve due to the lime rich water which percolates down to the northern edge of the reserve, giving a gradation from neutral to acid conditions over a relatively short distance. While not managed by SWT, the quarry is well worth seeing if you are planning on visiting Lielowan. Highlights included a palmate newt, found under a rock.

One management task that I need to undertake now and again is litter collecting. Although Lielowan has very few visitors it is bounded along the whole of its northern edge by the B914 which generates a noticeable number of bottles, cans, etc. If anyone would be willing to help with this it would be much appreciated.