Quorn's Local Wildlife

By Peter Gamble

As a result of the prolonged cold weather of the first three months of the year, most plants remained in a dormant state longer than usual. Towards the end of April, with the advent of some warmer days, trees and shrubs put on a tremendous spurt resulting in early flowers such as Cherry Plum and Blackthorn being in flower at the same time as many other species which normally flower a good deal later.

As the weather vanes from year to year, so no two years are identical from a wildlife standpoint: certain species doing well one year and different species during other years. During the last few months the Red Dead-nettle has been exceptionally plentiful and its flowers in various shades of pink and purple have been particularly evident along our roadsides.

A less common, attractive low growing species, the Storksbill, with rosy-purple stars and tiny fern-like leaves has been growing profusely on the south-eastern side of the Barrow Road bridge over the new bypass near Great Fenny Wood. This doubtless originates from dormant seed brought to the surface in the sandy soil during the construction of the bridge.

Quorn has a good number of such species, formerly common but now scarce which occasionally reappear for a year or two when soil is disturbed during construction and engineering work.

Another species which has appeared this spring on the same bridge is the Wild Pansy, not tobe confused with the smaller Field Pansy which is still plentiful in arable fields, whereas the Wild Pansy is now rare throughout Leicestershire.

A local little annual plant in the Cress family, the so called Spring Whitlow-grass, only a few centimeters high, with small pure white flowers is becoming more common in parts of Quorn and was flowering well in cracks in the footpath in Spinney Drive at the end of March.

Were any of you readers lucky enough to see the splendid display of Wood Anemones on the eastern side of Buddon Wood, visible from Wood Lane - literally thousands of delicate pinky white flowers spread over an acre or so of woodland floor under the trees. They flowered through April and into May, as in all probability they have done at this ancient woodland site over thousands of years and long before the road was built.

Butterflies were late appearing this year and it was the 3rd April before I saw my first in Quorn Parish. On the 5th four species were active in our Meeting Street garden. Since then, from the 1st April onwards, we have had several Holly Blue, Small and Green-veined Whites and, on the 27th, the first lovely male Orange-tip, with several more since. ln addition a freshly emerged Speckled Wood was active in Kaye's Plantation on the 26th.

Some exciting birds have been noted in the parish since I last wrote. At Quorn Lodge Borrow Pit a flock of seventeen Brent Geese were seen on the 23rd March - the largest flock of this normally maritime goose to be recorded in Leicestershire.

An Oystercatcher was seen on the 10th March and two on the 10th April; five Shelduck and a Common Sandpiper on the 21st April; a handsome Black-necked Grebe in breeding plumage during the 23rd - 26th April; a Greenshank on the 2nd May.

Whilst discussing our local bird life with a fanner friend recently, I was reminded of how once common breeding birds such as the Lapwing and Grey Partridge had declined. Over 50 years ago, the Lapwing was a common breeding bird nesting communally in many fields in the Parish and the "creaking gate" call of the Grey partridge was one of the commonest sounds in the local countryside on summer evenings. Now none of the former and few of the latter are breeding in our Quorn countryside today.