About the reserve

This small arable field is managed with wildlife in mind. Here you will find rare cornfield flowers which were once plentiful in our countryside, a beetle bank and flocks of farmland birds.

In spring, swallow, warblers and finches gather together among the thick margins of wildflowers.

The site is now managed for arable weeds with cereals sown every autumn. With many arable weed species declining, this work provides valuable foraging opportunities for wildlife.

During the winter, when food stores run low, some of the cropped areas are left  as stubble. This provides rich pickings  for linnet, yellowhammer and other farmland birds, which have all suffered national declines due to intensive  farming methods.

Special Features: 

In summer, rare field cow-wheat, locally known as ‘poverty weed’, is in full flower. 

Field cow-wheat is a hemiparasite, meaning it gets some of its food from another species, as well as from photosynthesis. It can parasitise a wide range of host species but tends to favour grasses. The large seeds are poisonous.

This plant was once so common that people were employed to pull it out and burn it, to prevent its seeds from tainting the crop. Today, St Lawrence Field is the only remaining native stronghold in the UK for this striking arable plant.