August 2021

13 Buckden Roundabout August 2021 Wildlife in Buckden I hope you have been enjoying our local wildlife and the great- er opportunities to enjoy it this year compared to last. I was so pleased to see the lovely Bee Orchids at the Tow- ers being so well looked after back in June. I knew that Bee Orchids grew along the Anglian Water Road (very small plants there as they are really ex- posed to the sun and dry conditions in the sandy soil there), among the grass around Stirtloe Pits and at the far north end of Paxton Pits (which just fall into our Parish boundary), but it was great to learn of a new site and to see them well protected and appreciated. Our Lizard Orchid increased to three spikes this year and a good number of Pyramidal Orchids flowered along Anglian Water Road as well, with more than 30 in fine fettle in late June and an overall total of nearly 60 different flowering spikes this summer in that area. Please don ’ t mow those verges! It was also so encouraging to see many Buckden residents tak- ing part in “ No Mow May ”, leaving areas of lawns uncut to bloom with beautiful and beneficial wildflowers and rich col- ours. Contrasting them with the closely cut verges and green spaces around the Parish really brought home the strange na- ture of our cutting - culture and our perception of what is “ tidy ” (and the huge amount of money we could, and should, save on maintenance costs). Of course, there are places where we need clear views on roads, roundabouts and paths and are- as of short grass for playing fields and recreational use, but nation - wide more and more local authorities are seeing sense and creating the right balance of cut and uncut and saving money to use elsewhere as a result. Well done to everyone who kept the village looking beautiful at this time for all to enjoy by either letting the flowers grow in shared spaces and on verges, or in their own lawns - and have continued to do so through the summer. And on a similar note, as it is late summer, I ’ d urge all “ bramble - bashers ” to take a look at their gor- geous flowers right now and see how many bees and butterflies are enjoying them now. And that ’ s before the fruits come, for us and wildlife to benefit from. It was great to see Spotted Flycatchers return to Buckden Mari- na to nest in the poplars in the car park where lots of hedge- row planting has gone on. A new “ special guest ” here to stay as a nesting bird is the Little Egret. A pair of Oystercatchers also raised three chicks at the Marina. It ’ s great how people, our leisure pursuits and wildlife occur side by side here with both clearly thriving. Butterfly numbers continue to disappoint. People often ask where all the butterflies have gone and my reply is, it is in large part due to the “ cutting culture ” I mentioned earlier. I ’ ve wit- nessed a clear decline in numbers even in the 11 years I ’ ve lived in Buckden overall so longstanding residents will have known even big- ger numbers historically. How- ever, July brings the chance to look for Purple Hairstreaks and White - letter Hairstreaks along Stirtloe Lane on the south side of what is now the new housing estate. Fortu- nately, the trees and scrub along the lane has largely remained intact meaning these special butterflies con- tinue to survive. I had my highest count of Purple Hairstreaks (9) here in mid - July and hopefully White - letter Hairstreaks (an elm specialist) will put on their usually good showing here. There is a myth that Badgers and Hedgehogs can ’ t exist side by side and I ’ ve been talking to my Wildlife Enquiries Team at the RSPB about this. Here in Buckden there appears to be no con- flict and the sight of both species feeding side by side in my garden in June proved this! With our Neighbourhood Plan now officially in place with plans and policies for protecting our local wildlife and the special places where it occurs, our wildlife is no doubt a little bit safer. We have a significant record now of what species we have in the Parish and if you have any records you could share to add to this, please get in contact. I know there are several natural- ists living in the village who have been here a lot longer than me and I ’ d be very grateful for anything you can share to make the record and the overall list as accurate as possible. Anything pre - 2011 would be particularly well received! We know what “ Priority ” species we have and where they are found, so we ’ re in an excellent position to ensure we can look after them and hopefully encourage their numbers to grow and spread for us all to enjoy. Mark Ward is the RSPB ’ s Head of Supporter Experience and a nature writer. He has lived in Buckden for 10 years and Cam- bridgeshire all his life. You can share your wildlife records with him by emailing him at goldenbins@hotmail.co.uk Mark ’ s Greenway garden—mowing with Nature in mind. 12 species of bee and eight species of hoverfly have used this patch in his garden Bee orchids at the Towers Rare cornflowers popped up in the parish this summer