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On the tenth day of Christmas…



On the tenth day of Christmas…

December 22, 2015

On the 10th day of Christmas in the South Downs National Park, there’s something leaping at Lord’s Piece…

Lord’s Piece is a very special heathland in Sussex and home to many rare species, including the British field cricket.

Field Cricket by Neil Hulme
Field Cricket by Neil Hulme

British field crickets are classed as a vulnerable insect and are a national priority species. By the 1980s the population of field crickets had plummeted to just one site in West Sussex and was expected to become extinct.

From the early nineties the South Downs Joint Committee (the National Park Authority’s predecessor) worked with the Zoological Society of London, English Nature and other partners to save the field cricket from extinction. Since then, more than 1,500 crickets have been released at carefully selected sites, including Lord’s Piece. This wild population is now self-sustaining and the species has been saved from extinction.

Other work happening at Lord’s Piece includes working on the cliff edges of the sand quarry on the edge of the site to encourage the return of the sand martin. They’ve already returned to another sand pit to the north so fingers crossed they’ll come back to Lord’s Piece too.

Heath tiger beetle by Bruce Middleton
Heath tiger beetle by Bruce Middleton

Another creature we’d like to see at Lord’s Piece is the heath tiger beetle – Britain’s largest tiger beetle which can reach up to 18mm in length. Another national priority species we are working to reintroduce the species here by removing scots pine and birch, along with fire break management ensure this species thrives on its sites. If you have heath tiger beetles then it’s generally a sign that the heathland is in good health.