How about spending sleepless nights counting SLUGS instead of sheep? The last major study of slug diversity and activity in gardens was carried out in the 1940s by entomologists Barnes and Weil (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1386?seq=1). Newcastle Uni and RHS are looking for volunteers to survey garden slugs (https://www.rhs.org.uk/science/help-our-research/slug-count). Photo'd below; Limax maximus on the CBDC Recording Day in Gilsland 2019. A real gardener's friend - eats fungi, rotting veg and other slugs!😝😝😝

Memorable Mushrooms. Paul Nichol has been taking a look through CBDC’s fungi dataset. There are a few records that stick in his mind. It might be that they are are rare, a first for Cumbria or simply unusual, like David Nattrass' 2017 find - Morchella esculenta. Hear more at the Cumbria Recorders’ Conference at Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery Trust on 29th Feb. FREE book now www.cbdc.org.uk/get-involved/recorders-conference/

Snowy Owl (Bubo Scandiacus) - CBDC has never received a record of the beautiful snowy owl but there are 3 records for Cumbria.
This iconic high arctic species has a circum-polar breeding distribution, wintering in different regions depending on the availability of food, moving somewhat south to achieve this. It is generally a sedentary species, staying in one place for a long time, but irruptions are caused by a lack of their mammal prey.
It is thought that birds arriving in Britain come mostly from Scandinavia but some arriving in the southwest may have Nearctic origins. The first record for Britain is of a bird shot on Unst Shetland in 1808 and they have been recorded at times throughout the year, some being long-stayers; breeding took place on Fetlar from 1967 until the early 1990s.
The three records for Cumbria were at: West Moor End, Aspatria in 1930; Moss Rigg, Tilberthwaite in 1959; Kentmere Valley, South Lakes in 2001.
Thanks to Chris Hind and the NBN Atlas for information and images.

Too much brandy in mince pies in the Conservation Jobs Office today me thinks! 😂 (The article is about the well known Hawaiian duck aka Koloa)