August - September 2024

 

Hitchin Cemetery August-September 2024

As ever, the cemetery is a haven for wildlife and a few creatures not seen before were spotted, such as this Canary-shouldered Thorn moth: difficult to see as it was well camouflaged on a fallen Birch leaf, but a real beauty! A Cream-streaked Ladybird however was easier to spot in amongst some Larch needles.


Gatekeeper butterflies were the most numerous butterflies during August and we inadvertently disturbed a nest of Bumblebees (probably Common Carder Bumblebees), nesting in a hole at the bottom of a gravestone, but I suspect they would soon make good the slight damage caused.

 


 Compost news: possibly more information than you want to know...

There has been a concerted effort to make our existing compost area just as we want it, with the two big containers being divided to make four smaller heaps so we can rotate and turn compost in an effective manner. The work started by removing the existing contents and we found a two mice underneath, seemingly not too worried by our presence. Favours were called in from a retired joiner to help make some slotting side pieces and we are now happy with the completed work and look forward to filling them up.
 
  

A mouse was not the only mammal to be seen in the cemetery, a dog-walker spotted a young hedgehog looking distressed and the Friends of Hitchin Cemetery swung into action! The Hedgehog was caught and put in a trug whilst we phoned the Hedgehog Preservation Society who said we had done the right thing and the animal was taken to a local vets, given an antibiotic jab and passed on to a re-homing centre. Finger's crossed it has a happy life!


A bit of praise for the John O'Connor grass-cutting team is due as we noticed they took care to mow around a plant in an otherwise short-cut area: this Scabious kept on flowering and the bees will have appreciated it as well as a weird-looking fly (Physocephala rufipes). 



The cemetery has a magnificent amount of Ivy which was just starting to flower at the end of August and will continue for months, looking remarkably good as it wraps around a gravestone (although it looks like it will need to be kept in hand in future). Ivy provides nectar for a whole host of insects, shelters lots of mini-beasts over winter and in late winter its berries are important food for several different birds such as Redwings, Blackbirds and Song Thrushes.
 


 Very unusually the weekly working party was called off due to heavy rain at the end of September, but there's bound to be more sun and more insects making use of the Ivy during October and November. Insects to look out for through the autumn are Red Admirals, Ivy Bees, Honey Bees and Comma butterflies among other things. 
  

The cemetery friends group now have many months of tidying back the summer growth, hedge-cutting, and getting those compost bins filled!  
 











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