Wednesday 17 May 2023

St Giles Churchyard Survey.

It was quiet and peaceceful as I entered St. Giles Churchyard in Scartho. It was warm with mixed sun and cloud. I was there to begin a wildlife survey of the churchyard and glebe land as part of a rewildingof the glebe initiative led by Scartho in Bloom. Wandering around I was inspired by how well nature is doing here. I recorded only about 10 birds but today that was not my focus so there will be significantly more than this. Sadly while I was there the sun was not out which meant no butterflies but I did come across a solitary red-tailed bumble bee busily gathering nectar. The thing that inspired me most was the large number of plants I recorded in only 40 mins: 23 species as well as excellent lichen cover on some of the grave stones. The glebe land, which is already left to its own devices is rich in plants and I especially enjoyed the soft shield ferns which are doing well as well has a thicket of one of my favourites: cow parsley or kexy as my Witham Fen bred mum used to call it. As the main church yard is mown sparingly it, too is rich in flowers especially bluebells, primroses and (in the winter) snowdrops. I also noticed healthy crops of green alkanet and forget-me-not. A good start.

Green alkanet colonising a grave
Forget-ne-not forest
Green alkanet
Lichen covered gravestone
Footpath in the Glebe
Glebe land
Soft shield fern
                                                                        Glebe land
Ribwort plantain
Soft shield fern
Wild bank
Forget-me-not
Forget-me-not

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