Country diary: This wildlife-rich meadow is no place to build houses

Langstone, Hampshire: Corridors like these are vital for biodiversity, and the abundance of birds, bats and mammals is the proofKnown locally as Southmere, the nine-acre field at the end of my road is a traditional hay meadow - threatened habitat that has declined by 97% since the 1930s. It hasn't been ploughed or artificially fertilised since the second world war, so in summer the grass is aglow with meadow buttercups, red clover, common knapweed, meadow thistle, great burnet and pyramidal orchids. This floral abundance supports a plethora of insects, which in turn attract birds and mammals.Three species of pipistrelle bat - common, soprano and the rarer, migratory Nathusius' - are a common sight, swooping above the grassland in pursuit of moths and midges. Surveys have found serotines, noctules, western barbastelles, and Leisler's bats, and in 2020 a greater horseshoe was found - the first record for the borough and an extremely rare species in the county. Continue reading...