Bagmere lease

Cheshire Wildlife Trust has this autumn acquired the management lease of 10Ha of land at Bagmere. The Site Special of Scientific Interest (SSSI), owned by Bathgate Silica Sand, is the last known site for the nationally-rare small pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly Bolaria selene in the county.

Bagmere, located between Holmes Chapel and Congleton, is a fen: a type of peatland that receives water and nutrients from the soil, rock and ground water as well as from rainfall. Fens are dynamic semi-natural systems requiring careful management in order to maintain the plant communities and associated species richness.

In the Cheshire region fens are often found in a complex of habitat types associated with the meres and mosses as part of the hydrosere succession of wetlands formed after the last ice age. Bagmere is the bed of a formerly larger mere, which has now almost completely filled with peat. A small area of open water remains, surrounded by particularly rich fen, marshy grassland and carr woodland.

The flora at Bagmere is diverse making it a great site for botanical enthusiasts. The fen flora largely comprises lesser pond-sedge Carex acutiformis, common reed Phragmites australis and reed canary-grass Phalaris arundinacea. There are also notable species such as purple small-reed Calamagrostis canescens, greater pond-sedge Carex riparia and greater tussock-sedge C. paniculata.

The carr woodland, dominated by grey willow Salix cinerea, alder Alnus glutinosa and downy birch Betula pubescens, leads into botanically-rich marshy grassland with species such as meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria, wild angelica Angelica sylvestris, ragged-robin Lychnis floscuculi, marsh cinquefoil Potentilla palustris and star sedge Carex echinata. The grassland includes great burnet Sanguisorba officinalis and the carr supports greater spearwort Ranunculus lingua, both of which are rare in Cheshire.

The food plants of the small pearl-bordered fritillary larvae are marsh violet Viola palustris and common dog-violet V. riviniana. Both are found in extensive patches over parts of the site, together with widespread nectar sources for the adults, such as marsh cinquefoil.

The management of this site in partnership with Natural England through Higher Level Stewardship will form part of our Conservation Grazing Scheme where three of the Trust’s Dexter cows will be employed to restore the habitat by creating conditions in which the food plants of the small pearl bordered fritillary can thrive.