Mike's Natural Musings: St. Giles Churchyard

Showing posts with label St. Giles Churchyard. Show all posts

Thursday, 29 June 2023

St Giles Churchyard Wildlife Recording Project.

I have spent two more enjoyable recording sessions in St Giles Churchyard since returning from Scotland. Both the bird list and the plant list have increased. There are now 14 bird species on the list, 4 butterflies, 41 plant species plus lichens mosses and fungi, grey squirrel and, although I have not see one, a fox.

Cinquefoil

Fox and cubs

Greater Bindweed

Selfheal

Creeping Jenny

Common Daisy

Dryads Saddle

Evening Primrose

Hedgerow Cranesbill

Herb Robert

Pink Mallow (planted or garden escape)

Purple Toadflax (garden escape)

Rosebay Willowherb

Stonecrop

Turkish Sage (Planted or garden escape)

Bramble

Thursday, 25 May 2023

Rare Orchids On My Local Patch.

Having looked back through my archive I noted that I had already seen white helleborine in the cemetery by this time so I set out to check. I went the long way round taking in the churchyard as part of my survey and then out onto the fields returning by the cemetery. Although sunny and 16C there was still that nagging NE wind. I saw one holly blue in the churchyard and one unidentifiable white sp in the distance at the back of the cemetery but other than that no butterflies. The weather forecast is good for Saturday, with temperatures up to 20C, so I plan to visit the cemetery and Gooseman's then, hoping for small heath and large skipper butterflies. I was very pleased, however, to find the white helleborines out in the cemetery. I counted 18 but I am sure that I will have missed some and that there will be more to come.

St Giles Churchyard

Looking towards the cemetery in the trees.

The track to Gooseman's field.

The plank bridge

Behind the burial ground

The buttercup meadow

White helleborine

Sunday, 21 May 2023

St Giles Churchyard.

I managed another hour in the churchyard today and was pleased, that with a bit more sun there were some butterflies about: speckled wood, holly blue and male orange tip. I noted a few more birds today and was delighted to record chiffchaff and blackcap, both warblers that visit us for the summer. Hearing some crows making a great deal of noise I looked up to see three of them harassing a buzzard which put up with the annoyance for a while before drifting off towards Gooseman's Field. Buzzards are doing really well in recent years and it is not unusual to see them over Scartho. Their numbers have increased since organochlorines were banned in crop sprays and gamekeepers have become more enlightened.

Cow parsley in the Glebe land.

Hedgerow Cranesbill

Herb Robert seed head.

Herb Robert

Soft Shield Fern

Male Orange-tip

Speckled Wood

Holly Blue

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.