Biodiversity

The churchyard at St Michaels is a quiet, peaceful space and a small haven for biodiversity to thrive situated in the community of Boldmere.  The churchyard has diverse boundary structures which are excellent habitats for a variety of wildlife.  There are old historic stone walls that are colonised by lichens, ferns and mosses.  A great host for various invertebrates and hence a good food source for birds … blackbirds and robins in particular.  The boundary to the main Boldmere Road is primarily a hedgerow of mature hawthorn bushes, which are a mass of white flowers in Spring and then awash with berries in the Autumn.  A great and invaluable food source.  Hawthorn is a native shrub and supports one of  the greatest concentrations of invertebrates of any native shrub.  It is simply the ultimate hedging for wildlife.  There is also plenty of ivy in various places within the churchyard, combined with holly bushes mean the ideal habitat for the often sighted holly blue butterflies.

The churchyard has some of the oldest tress in Britain…the ancient yew tree.  There is a circle of yew trees along one of the main churchyard paths.  The variety of trees within the churchyard is amazing … from an old established oak tree to silver birches, sycamore, cherry, cypress, horse chestnut and an avenue of mature lime trees.  The trees provide essential shelter, food, roosting and nesting sites.

In the less visited areas of the churchyard there are small pockets of grassland which are habitat to provide pollinators and nectar to support bees and other invertebrates.  Along the lime tree avenue there is in early spring a carpet of flowering crocuses and some bluebells that supply nectar and pollen for insects emerging from hibernation.  In summer there are large clumps of wild borage a feast for the bees.  In the grassy areas and amongst the old headstones there are violets, clover, buttercups, daisies, snowdrops and celandine.  There are a variety of bird species within the churchyard.  Many are the usual urban sightings of  house sparrows, magpies, pigeons, blackbirds and robins.  In addition there is a green woodpecker that is regularly seen plus small family groups of long tailed tits.  Local residents report that at night time hoots of tawny owls come from the churchyard . In recent summers we have noticed the arrival of parakeets.  On one occasion a flock were observed on the church steeple grills where they were feasting on the insects caught on the grills.  The variety of bird life results from the diversity of habitats within the churchyard … old trees, hedgerows, stone walls, ivy, holly and grassy areas.

There are foxes and cubs that are regularly seen in the churchyard.  Their den appears to be just beyond the churchyard boundary.  In addition the trees often rustle to the sound of squirrels.  To encourage wildlife steps have been taken to install more bird boxes, pallet wood bug hotels, corner areas for leaf collection, and small deadwood piles great for nesting and hibernation of a variety of wildlife.  In addition, some of the older headstones have bird bath structures that are useful to fill with water for the wildlife.