Quiet morning

Overcast and hinting at rain with a moderate westerly - seemed like a good prospect. Headed to Dalbeath Marsh to check out the site (and maybe bag a Tree Pipit) but after watching from the "ground floor" I decided not to spend the time going up the hill - not enough movement. Instead I used the time to head for Inverkeithing, where there was also not an awful lot going on. Maybe the Hill wasn't at fault and is still worth a try (it's certainly worth a try).

After 30 minutes of not great, but not horrible, vismig I decided to key out a couple of plants to practise using my new "The Vegetative Key to British Flora". I chose Ribwort Plantain and a St.John's Wort since I had a good idea what they were to start with. Both went well, and I was able to key them out, discovering into the bargain that Dalbeath Marsh has Perforate SJW (as well as Slender). However, when I tried to key out an unknown plant I seem to have taken a wrong turn. Still a great deal to learn about plant ID (if not also birds ...)

{
Ribwort Plantain -
flowering plant, lvs not stemlike, lvs aerial/emergent, lvs simple, margin entire, parallel veined, ligule and auricles absent -> "J" (ligule and auricles absent)

herb, leaves not equitant, without latex, not vanilla/goat-scented, alternate, margins entire, basal lvs present, no white upper midrib, >4mm wide -> "JT" (Lvs w/ main veins (& midrib) raised below, with stomata both sides)
}

{
Perforate SJW -
flowering plant, lvs not stemlike, lvs aerial/emergent, lvs simple, margin entire, pinnate veined, leaves opposite -> "L" (lvs entire, opposite)

Herb, latex absent, stipules absent, leaves with black (oil) glands/translucent dots -> "LH" (Hypericum)

Stem hairless, erect, lvs black glands, lvs translucent dots, stem 2 raised lines -> Perforate SJW
}