Our Churchyard in SEPTEMBER

We were blessed with the most wonderful conditions for our second filming with the school in the churchyard. The wind dropped, the sun shone, and the grass was full of different flowers and a great variety of insects.

I had prepared a list of species we might see, but the children - their eyes are younger than mine! - quickly found mny that I had not included. I was impressed by their active. interest and enthusiasm for the hunt: many told me about the wild creatures that they had found in their own homes and gardens. They were also quite fearless and adept at catching insets for closer examination: ladybirds and woodlice were the favourite, but they had surprising success with grasshoppers. I was pleased to see how careful they were in handling and subsequently releasing these living creatures back 1into their environment. I think. I can safely say that no insects were harmed in the making of this film.

This year seems to have witnessed ever more species call the churchyard home. We saw at least half a dozen Small Copper butterflies, which I believe are breeding in the area, as also is the Small Blue which is there again this year. A new butterfly to appear is the Small Skipper. Its caterpillars feed o Yorkshire Fog, a reddish grass of which there is an abundance here: a third species perhaps to breed here.

One of the early figures to be released from the Big Butterfly Count is the large number of Red Admirals that have been seen. This spectacularly colourful butterfly is p of them will particularly partial to Buddleia, and indeed we saw several on the bush in the churchyard in the course of our filming day. This butterfly does breed in this country, but the majority of them will migrate to continental Europe or to North Africa for the winter,

There are many wild animals that hide from human beings – can you blame them. We found owl pellets on the ground: these are the undigested parts of the bird’s food, such as hair or bones, which are regurgitated (coughed up through the beak). This suggests that not only have owls visited at night, but also that their prey – small mammals such as voles – are also here. Similarly, the presence of fox scats suggests that foxes are also hunting at night. You won’t see the voles: they will be hiding away under the protection of the grass.

Altogether a most encouraging year, so a huge thank you to all those who have helped with cutting and raking and who have supported this project in so many different ways.

Nigel Symington
nigel.symington@gmail. com