Country diary: lost in wonder in the underwater jungle

Baston Fen, Lincolnshire: The verdant bioabundance of the Counter Drain overwhelms my plant identification abilitiesThe width of a cricket pitch and 2km long, Baston Fen is a needle of grazing marsh along the southern side of the River Glen. This fragment is lost amid vast flat acres of arable land in the north-west of the fens. My expectations of a wildlife-rich experience are low, but surprises await.The ruler-straight Counter Drain running along the southern side of the reserve has crystal-clear waters and its bed is adorned with the richest and most varied aquatic flora I have ever seen. Large, brownish water milfoil plants billow upwards like small trees, lime-green water violets with their stiff, feathery leaves abound, starworts and other aquatic niceties carpet the spaces in between, while pale crumpled ribbon leaves snake upwards. Scattered on the surface at the margins are the pads and little globe flowers of yellow lilies. Between the lily pads skate huge flotillas of whirligig beetles and around the lily stems shoals of young chub loiter. Continue reading...