Local Wildlife Site

Wildlife

This old meadow is a good site for invertebrates, and is an attractive walk north of Belmont station. A straggly hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) hedge on the east of the site partially obscures the railway line, while an avenue of large trees, mostly horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), forms the western boundary. The meadow has an attractive mix of common grasses and wild flowers, including common vetch (Vicia sativa), bladder campion (Silene vulgaris) and common knapweed (Centaurea nigra). These, and the brambles (Rubus fruticosus agg.) on the edges, support typical meadow butterflies, grasshoppers and crickets, including Roesel's bush cricket (Metrioptera roeselii), and during the middle of summer, you may see a southern hawker dragonfly (Aeshna cyaneus) patrolling the south end of the pasture. The hawthorn berries attract flocks of redwings in winter, and mixed flocks of finches feed on the wildflower and grass seed heads.