Grassland

Imagine walking through a meadow full of cowslips and orchids with clouds of butterflies fluttering out of the grass. Now 95% of England’s traditional hay meadows no longer exist and these were some of our richest grassland habitats for wildlife.

Many grassland areas have been ploughed up, reseeded with a single species of grass, and been sprayed with fertilizers to increase the grass growth to feed sheep and cattle. Grassland areas which are less intensively farmed can be fantastic for wildlife.

The types of plant that you find in a grassland will indicate the kind of soil there is there. Some of our richest grasslands are in areas of chalk and limestone but all semi-natural grasslands (ones which haven’t had a lot of fertilisers used and been reseeded) are brilliant areas to enjoy wildlife.

Did you know?

A single square metre of chalk grassland can have more than 30 kinds of wildflower growing in it! By counting the flowers that grow within square metre quadrats placed in the grassland botanists are able to measure how rich a grassland habitat is.

Wildlife to look out for:

Birds: Kestrel, barn owl, skylark, wren, goldfinch, linnet.

Mammals: rabbit, stoat, weasel, field vole, harvest mouse, mole, common shrew, pygmy shrew.

Plants: Daisy, buttercup, ox-eye daisy, red clover, yellow rattle, cowslip, green-winged orchid, marsh orchid, pyramidal orchid, common spotted orchid, meadow saxifrage, common knapweed, meadow cranebill, ragwort.

Minibeasts: Many butterflies (including meadow brown, ringlet, common blue), grasshoppers and crickets, spiders, froghoppers, beetles.