Wild Alphabet - C

Cleaver Heath
Cleaver Heath is a Cheshire Wildlife Trust nature reserve near Heswall, Wirral. The reserve is principally lowlands heath, dominated by heather, along with wavy-hair grass, bilberry and other heathland plants. In summer the bright yellow gorse catches the eye, and the chirping of grasshoppers fills the air. Heathland is an increasingly rare habitat, it is estimated there is only about 200 hectares left in the whole of Cheshire. Yet it is home to a wide range of rare insects, as well as birds, plants and reptiles.
At only 3 hectares Cleaver Heath smaller than many other reserves, yet the quality of the habitat has earned it SSSI status.

Corn marigold
Corn marigold, scientific name Chrysanthemum segetum was once one of the commonest of arable weeds. An annual, it germinated among crops of corn and other cereals, sometimes in large numbers. It was such a pest Henry II issued an ordinance against it; probably the first legal requirement to destroy a weed species. Corn marigolds, along with field poppies, cornflower and corncockle, brought swathes of colour to our arable crops until the arrival of modern herbicides in the 1950s. It is now a very rare sight, mostly appearing on waste ground and roadsides.

A member of the daisy family, the bright yellow flowers gave it the alternative name of ‘Gold’. The foliage is a bushy bluish-green – the perfect foil for the flowers. It grows best on light sandy soils, and can flower from June into October.

Celandine, Lesser
The lesser Celandine, scientific name Ranunculus ficaria, is a member of the buttercup family, and one of the earliest spring flowers. The bright yellow stars appear against a background of glossy dark green foliage. The celandine prefers damp soils, and grows by streams and ditches as well as woodlands. It is often found in shady places, which makes the flowers appear to glow even brighter.

It was once also known as pilewort, as the plant was thought to be a cure for haemorrhoids.

Chaffinch
The chaffinch is the second most common breeding bird in Britain, living in woodlands and hedgerows as well as our gardens. Perhaps because they are so common we often overlook their bright colourful plumage. The male is the more colourful, with a pink breast and cheeks, blue-grey crown and nape, and chestnut brown back. The female is more dowdy, in varying shades of brown. Both sexes have two obvious white bars on the wings. In flight the white outer tail feathers become obvious, as well as the flash of white on the wings.

Chaffinches spend much of their time foraging on the ground for seeds and insects, where their bright colours give surprisingly good camoflage. In gardens they are regular visitors to feeding stations, but instead of coming to the feeder itself they prefer to stay on the ground, picking up seeds dropped from above.
Many of our chaffinches are with us all year round, but in the winter numbers double as they are joined by migrants from Scandinavia and Western Europe. These migrants can form large flocks, travelling across open countryside in search of food.

Comma butterfly
The comma butterfly is easily recognised by ragged edges of the wings, unlike any other British butterfly. At rest or in flight the orange-brown patterned upper sides of the wings make the butterfly easy to see. However when it closes its wings the much darker undersides and irregular outline make it look like a piece of dead leaf. This is perfect camouflage for a butterfly which spends the winter hibernating among leafy debris. The only noticeable marking on the underside is a small curved white mark on the hind wing resembling a comma, which gives the butterfly its name.

There is a certain mystery around the comma. A century ago it was almost unknown in Britain; since then it has increased until it is common across most of southern England, but even now numbers can vary greatly from year to year, for no known reason.

The caterpillars are black and red with spines along the back and sides, and a large white patch on the back, which is said to make them look like bird droppings. They feed on nettle, hazel, hops and elm.

The adult butterfly has a long flight period, and is most likely to be seen in woodland glades, along hedgerows or in domestic gardens.

This article was originally published in Cheshire Life magazine