Gold Spot

After a very few hours sleep, it was time to get up, have a quick shower and set off for King's Dyke NR, ready for Chris Packham and his team to arrive at 8 a.m. I was nearly in the wrong place - having just climbed up a hill to reach my allotted station I received a phone call to say that they wouldn't have time to get that far, so I had to race back down again to join up with Pete at the pond-dipping platform. 

I hadn't really been looking forward to the publicity part of the Bioblitz, but Chris was easy to talk to and seemed genuinely interested in the stoneworts that I had to show him. Having chatted spontaneously with him for several minutes, he then filmed me for his Twitter feed, and after that I was interviewed again by the BBC Look East reporter. It was all very relaxed and good-natured, and there was plenty of involvement from children, including a seven year old called Rebecca who interviewed Pete about butterflies - magic stuff!

After the entourage had left, Pete and I spent the rest of the morning with other members of the public, emptying the moth traps and identifying the catch. This Gold Spot was one of the more spectacular moths to have turned up. The Bioblitz ended at midday, although we didn't get home until early afternoon - when we just flopped. A very exhausting but worthwhile 24 hours!