Wildlife

Clutton lies in a semi rural area, surrounded by fields, hedgerows, farmland and a few woodland habitats.

Birdlife

Gardens in the village attract the usual garden visitors – blackbirds, blue tits and great tits, robins, coal tits, hedge sparrows, starlings, chaffinches, greenfinches, goldfinches and so on. Song thrushes, now becoming rarer in gardens generally, can also be seen if you have a pair nesting nearby. Clutton church is home to a small colony of jackdaws (Clutton’s answer to the ravens of the Tower of London, perhaps?), and buzzards are a common sight soaring above the surrounding fields and sometimes directly over the village itself. If you’re quick, you’ll see the odd sparrowhawk swooping fast and low over garden hedges to flush out smaller species and take one by surprise – I’ve seen them catch something as large as a starling.

If you are a keen birdwatcher, you may also be lucky to see some of the more unusual species passing through the village. The blackcap is normally a summer visiting member of the warbler family but now small numbers overwinter in the milder south west. Individual birds can occasionally be seen in Clutton skulking around in bushes and hedges in wintertime.

Brightly coloured siskins from the north, a slighter and daintier version of the greenfinch, sometimes wander southwards, especially in colder winters, and will feed on peanuts in bird feeders in the village. Have you made any sightings during milder winters?

Bullfinches, long-tailed tits, chiffchaffs are some of the other species that visit our gardens according to the time of year. Tawny owls can be heard calling at night sometimes, and occasionally a little owl can be spotted in the vicinity of the meadows around the church. Skylarks, another once common species disappearing from the countryside, can be seen and heard singing above the cereal fields around the village and the hillier parts of the parish.

Because of the proximity of mature trees and small patches of woodland nearby, both green woodpeckers and greater spotted woodpeckers can be seen in Clutton. If you are really lucky, they can sometimes be seen feeding in gardens and on lawns here (green woodpeckers love ants and grubs, in particular). I have occasionally seen a greater spotted woody feeding from a bird feeder.

The striking, but shy, jay sometimes ventures into quiet gardens, and collared doves, usually in pairs, can be one of the bolder visitors to our bird tables.

Please share your local wildlife sightings with us here.

Summer Visitors

Given that the cuckoo is now a declining species in Britain, it will be even more interesting to record when the www.cvwg.org.uk first cuckoo calls are heard this Spring. There are usually one or two calling in the vicinity, and they can be spotted flying over the village or calling from the heights of a tall tree. And when will the first swallows and house martins return from their voyage to Africa and back? Last year early swallows were seen in Clutton on Saturday 12th April.

Let us know of your first local sightings this year.

Mammals

Squirrels seem to be a rarity over most of the village – an unusual visitor rather than a regular friend in most parts of Clutton. There are several badger setts locally, and villagers living on the outskirts can often see the unmistakable signs of badger activity from the night before – holes burrowed under fences, lawns clawed up as they search for worms, etc.

Churchyard Habitat

The churchyard of St Augustine’s church in Clutton is a haven for creatures and plants. Only a few years ago 117 species of ferns, grasses and flowering plants had been identified there. Tree species in the yard include lime, yew, holly, birch, sycamore, hazel, ash, cypress and walnut. Why not see how many types of tree you can identify next time you visit the churchyard? Please email us with any of your local wildlife sightings or tales!

Some local wildlife ‘hotspots’:

• Chew Valley Lake – day/ annual/ family permits available for entry to the various bird hides (also at Blagdon Lake).
• Greyfield Woods (between Clutton & High Littleton)
• Lord’s Wood (between Chelwood/Pensford/Wollard/Hunstrete). Access via lanes near Pensford or Hunstrete Hotel areas.
• Folly Farm (near Stowey, off Bishop Sutton road) – Avon Wildlife Trust run this conservation farm. Various waymarked walks.
• Ebbor Gorge (near Wells)
• Brean Down/Sand Point (either side of Weston-super-Mare)
• Velvet Bottom area of Mendip Hills (near Charterhouse)

More local wildlife information

• Cam Valley Wildlife Group
  – an independent wildlife conservation group covering Midsomer Norton, Radstock and surrounding villages
• Avon Wildlife Trust
  – looking after 37 nature reserves, covering a total of 700 hectares and including 12 Sites of Special Scientific Interest
• Reminiscences of Folly Farm
  - reminiscences over more than a half-century, from a peaceful and unspoilt farm; a timeless piece of Old England.