Tuesday 21 June 2011

The Pet Shop Boys Were Right

When they said ‘left to their own devices they can become a party animal’; the Greenspace is a wonderful constantly improving Brownfield habitat. The ingredients of bare ground, wild flowers, an edging of trees, a surrounding cocktail of undergrowth, some light and space, mixed with the early fine weather produce a recipe for inner city wildlife success.

The early sunshine (remember April) created a flush of insects, greatly benefiting local bats and sparrows. If the space was heavily built on, for example, industrial units, their populations would be suppressed due to poor air quality and a lack of varied grasslands. This is thought to be the reason behind their nationally declining numbers.

The railway corridor from Narrowways helps the flora and fauna migrate through the St Werburghs landscape, and must be partly responsible for attracting Bullfinches, Greenfinches, Goldfinches ( a group of Goldfinches is called a Charm), and Long Tailed Tits to the localised area.

The Holly Blue Butterfly has been emerging from the site; this species has a complex development involving a symbiotic relationship with red ants. This is a strong indication of biodiversity. The ants carry the butterfly larvae or chrysalis to their nests where they develop. It is an uplifting sight to see them flying from plant to plant to lay their eggs.

The adult butterfly’s feed on the bramble blossom, producing offspring that prefer Holly in the spring and Ivy in the autumn, but it will eat bramble and other shrubs in necessary.

The early fine weather provided a huge boost for Bumblebee Queens, giving them a good start to create their nectar pots to start their new colonies; visiting back gardens to find exotic blooms, heathers and spring flowers. Bumblebee’s look for nectar within a mile radius of their nests. Four or five species have nests alongside the greenspace.

One of the bee species spotted visiting the area is a Tree Bumblebee. This arrived in the UK from mainland Europe in 2001, its preferred nesting area is holes in trees, but its behavior is adapting and it will nest in little outside nooks and crannies, it is one to look out for. It will feature on the notice board when the Rosebay Willow herb produces its annual blaze of colour on the site.

So, every little bit helps to attract and boost numbers of these creatures. If they are not around and about us we will loose something of ourselves.

Jerry

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