Recent clearance work in the quarry has enabled easier study of the flora and fauna in this singular habitat. A sighting was made at the foot of the birch tree that stands alone in the quarry (now that it has been freed from gorse and bramble), and the sighting was another notable first for the Country Park. A brightly coloured Banded Centipede with distinctively striped legs was searching through the friable earth between the birch roots. It didn’t run away at speed when spotted, and this gave another clue to its identity. It was Lithobius variegatus, a species that is common in the western part of the country but seems to be absent from most of the eastern half, hence a record from the Country Park is worth having.