wildlife news april 2013

7/29/2019 Wildlife News April 2013

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/wildlife-news-april-2013 1/5

WILD

FLOWERSPECIAL

In this issue ... ■■■■■ Meadow Farm ■■■■■ Make space for wild flowers ■■■■■ Where to see orchids



Silver-washed fritillary.(Andy Fairbairn)

4 Wildlife news

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Lambs at ChimneyThis spring you may glimpselambs gambolling atChimney Meadows for thefirst time, as our flock of Hebridean sheep has movedfrom Woolley Firs in Berks totheir new home in westOxfordshire. Louise King,newly appointed ChimneyMeadows Estate Manager,has also moved to Chimneyso that she can show local

landowners and managershow we manage thefarmland efficiently (raisingincome from a hay crop andlivestock) while benefitingwildlife.

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10 green traineesThis year, thanks to supportfrom the Heritage LotteryFund, we welcome ten newtrainees to the Trust’sDeveloping Green Talent project. They will undergo anexacting programme of classroom, practical and on-the-job training on naturereserves and Living Landscapeproject areas that will provide

practical skills and experience.This first step onto the careerladder has proved verysuccessful for previoustrainees, who have all gainedemployment in theconservation and outdooreducation sector.

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Leonne with Ralph.(Wendy Tobitt)

Hebridean sheep with lamb.(Andy Fairbairn)

Red Kite Ramble for BBOWTRaise funds for BBOWT by joiningthe Red Kite Ramble on Sunday 23

June. You can choose a 6-, 11- or17-mile walk through the beautifulBuckinghamshire countryside,starting and finishing at the ClareCharity Centre in Saunderton.

The support

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Horse powerLooking after our moredelicate ecosystems can be atricky undertaking and oftenthe old ways remain the best.Since the soft, marshyground at Lashford LaneFen in Oxon is too sensitivefor heavy machinery, we usehorse-logging to removefelled trees and manage thewoodland. Last December,

under the expert guidance of trainer Ralph Mankee,Leonne the powerfulArdennes horse carefullyhauled the large logs fromthe site.

Bernwood needs youTo get the Bernwood Forest Project underway we needvolunteers to form a new work party at Finemere Wood and

join groups at RushbedsWoods and WhitecrossGreen Wood in Bucks. AtRushbeds we will manage thewoodland rides. Across all fiveBernwood sites we willimprove the grassland bytackling ragwort and thistles.

To find out more please [email protected] or tel.07725 242801. This project ispartially supported by WRENthrough the LandfillCommunities Fund.

Children enjoyingminibeasts with DGT.(Rick Mellis)

NEWS IN BRIEF

n our nature reserves we are continually

monitoring what we are doing to find out

how wildlife is faring in our care. We can do

this thanks to a huge volunteer effort rigorously

surveying on the ground and busily processing thedata in our back offices. Every three years this

information, based on sound scientific principles, is

compiled into a Conservation Report to assess the

progress we are making towards our vision of ‘a

region richer in wildlife’.

Despite setting high standards, the report

shows that the overall condition of BBOWT sites

continues to get better and the Trust manages

these sites well: 97% of habitats and species now

qualify as ‘favourable’ or becoming favourable,

compared to 91% in 2009.

Focusing on specific habitats, the reportdetails our challenges and successes. On our

floodplain meadows, a national rarity, our priority

has been to control water levels, which are

fundamental to wetland ecology. At Iffley

Meadows and Chimney Meadows in Oxon we

have cleared out ditches to get excess water off-site

after winter floods and allow more water on-site

when it is needed.

On our heathland sites we’ve been battling

fiercely, and successfully, to keep invading scrub

under control. While we’re winning that war, our big

heathland challenge now is maintaining public

access while limiting disturbance to scarce ground-nesting birds.

The report also highlights issues that are not

entirely within our control. In our woodlands we are

doing what we can to contain escalating deer

populations that can decimate native woodland

plants, but the problem goes beyond our

boundaries. This year we are introducing deer

impact surveys on our reserves and we will be

working with other landowners to address the

problem of woodland damage.

Records for our priority species also present a

mixed picture. Thanks to a concerted effort throughthe Water Vole Recovery Project our strongholds for

water voles have expanded since 2009, which is

great news. But within the last twelve months egg

counts of the rare brown and black hairstreak

butterflies reveal a decline in colony numbers. And

following two successive dry winters the snake’s-

head fritillary population at Iffley Meadows fell

dramatically in 2012.

Making wildlife countO Colin Williams, Reserves

Ecology Officerexplains,“By using the samesurveying methodseach year, the Trustcan identify both short-term changes as wellas long-term trends of species populationsand habitat qualityon our reserves. Thelong-term trendsare important inestablishing whetherwhat we are doing isworking. TheConservation Report informs our decisionsabout how we manageour nature reserves.”

A summary of thereport will beavailable later in the spring at bbowt.org.uk


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/wildlife-news-april-2013 3/5April 2013 5

ONYOUR PATCH:

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u give to BBOWT means more wildlife is protected – thank you

B u l l f i n c h

( A n d y S a n d s / n a t u r e p l . c o m )

d kite. (Peter Creed)

Oxford Community Wildlife Officer Andy Gunn setsabout planting a wildlife-friendly orchard withlocal varieties.

We like to think of orchards as part of our heritage. The sadtruth is these habitats are disappearing from our countrysidedue to intensive farming and the importing of cheaper

foreign fruit varieties, which are available throughout theyear. Yet traditional orchards are packed with wildlifehabitats including scrub, hedgerows, grasslands and fruittrees, which differ in age and also provide dead wood. Theyoffer refuge for over 1,800 species including nationallydeclining mistletoe, the rare orchard tooth fungus and theendangered noble chafer beetle.

At the Trust’s Oxford office in Littlemore staff andvolunteers have clubbed together to buy eight apple trees,including seven local varieties such as The Oxford Hoard andShilton Sherbert, together with a selection of plum, cherry,pear and damson.

In February, Andy Howard of The Heritage Fruit TreeCompany helped us to plant the trees, which are now

standing proud in the wildlife garden, protected by wire,until they establish. We will be following Andy Howard’sthree golden rules of traditional orchard management: firstyear sleep – the trees will be settling in and will not produceany fruit; second year creep – the growth should go into thetrees and not the fruit; third year leap! – the tree shouldbear fruit and continue to produce fruit with steady growth.

In the ensuing years staff and volunteers will have theopportunity to learn traditional management techniques andexperience tasty fruits not available in the supermarket. Wealso hope that our orchard will provide nectar for insects,food for birds and homes for small mammals.

If you would like to plant a fruit tree on your patch or if you have space available for a small orchard why not choose

one of the many interesting local varieties that are available?

Find out more■ Visit Heritage Fruit Trees at www.heritagefruittrees.co.uk ■ For detailed information about the wildlife value of

traditional orchards see The People’s Trust for EndangeredSpecies’ most recent survey at www.ptes.org

To register onlineand nominate BBOWTas your charity visit

ww.theclarefoundation.org

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Wildlife and businessSchoolchildren visitingWoolley Firs will be able toexplore a new hedgerowthanks to volunteers fromUnited Biscuits who plantedsaplings donated from one of the royal forests as part of theWoodland Trust’s JubileeWoods Project. We would alsolike to thank Blenheim Palace,Oxford Science Park, The GilliePartnership, LafargeAggregates Ltd and RWE

npower, Didcot Power Station,for renewing their corporatemembership. For moreinformation about corporatepartnerships please [email protected].

Lending a hand forheathlandWith BBOWT’s help 1stOwlsmoor Cubs and Scoutsare getting to knowWildmoor Heath and how tolook after this special habitaton their doorstep. Usingbasic hand tools such as bowsaws and loppers, they havecleared scrub and self-seededtrees in an area of heathland

used by breeding nightjar inthe summer. Back at their HQthe children learned the craftof broom-making using birchthat they had cut down.

United Biscuits volunteershedge planting.(Sarah Munday)

1st Owlsmoor Cubsand Scouts.(BBOWT)

Y our c ont inued suppor t is mak ing a dif f er enc e

C o l l e g e

L a k e

o r c h

a r d ( R

o b e r t L e w i s )

Iffley Meadows (Peter Creed); water vole (Kiran Garside); clearing ditches at Chimney (BBOWT)



rom April, Chimney’s colourful pageant of wild flowers

begins across this expansive site. Our newly purchased

meadows at Upper Common are awash with thousands of

cowslips, a sure sign of ‘unimproved’ grassland. From the Thames

Path, in the old meadows on the National Nature Reserve (NNR),

you may spot a purple patch of snake’s-head fritillaries, only

found growing wild on the remaining fragments of traditionally

managed floodplain meadows.

It is only ten years since we were able to buy 200 hectares of

land surrounding Chimney Meadows Farm thanks to members

and donors. During that time we have undertaken one of the

largest projects of its kind – by spreading seed containing green

hay from the NNR to transform intensely farmed fields into more

than 70 hectares of new wildflower-rich meadows.

While most modern meadows are farmed with the use of

fertilizers to produce multiple silage harvests, which is disastrous

for wildlife, our more traditional once-a-year hay cropping at

Chimney maintains the right balance to allow delicate meadow

plants to flourish. In April, you can now find adder’s-tongue and

the green-winged orchid. By June and July, pepper-saxifrage,

yellow rattle, common knapweed and oxeye daisy fill the site,attracting myriad butterflies. It’s not just the wonderful wild

flowers and insects that you can enjoy at this time of year. The

evocative songs of skylark and curlew can be heard across the

meadows and at Chimney you are in with a great chance of

spotting a brown hare.

By late summer the species-rich, high-quality hay that we’re

now able to produce is cut and sold on the open market, yielding

dividends by fetching good prices.

What’s more, Chimney Meadows is at the heart of our Upper

Thames Tributaries Living Landscape work, and provides a model

for combining a refuge for wildlife with economic activities, as

well as providing important ecosystem services such as

floodwater storage and water quality improvement. In 10 years,

through a lot of hard work from staff and volunteers, Chimney

Meadows has become a multi-faceted nature reserve.

To mark the tenth anniversary of our largest nature reserve,

why not see for yourself how these nationally important

wildflower meadows are thriving in the Trust’s care?

Celebrating 10 years■ Thank You Event, 26–27 April, for all supporters of the 2012

Chimney Meadows Appeal

■ Join us for guided walks to find out what makes Chimney sospecial. See website and diary for dates.

■ Visit our Anniversary Exhibition in the Chimney barn.

Hawthorn blossomOtherwise known as ‘May tree’

or ‘quickthorn’, the whitefrothy blossom of hawthorn

transforms the hedgerows. Thepungent flowers provide a

nectar source for more than150 different types of insect

and deep within its thornytwigs nesting birds are safe

from predators.

ChicksAs chicks are hatched you

may see egg shells and eggfragments on your lawn.

One female blue tit can layup to 16 eggs in a singlebrood and both parentswork hard to keep their

offspring fed with aconstant supply of small

caterpillars.

BirdsongBirds are singing their

hearts out in April as thebreeding season is

underway. It’s the starlingsthat often make the most

noise: chattering, whistlingand clicking their way

through a song, while alsomimicking the melodies of

other birds.

IT’S TIME FOR…

6 Wildlife news

( B B O W T )

( P e t e r C r e e d )

( D a v i d K i l b e y )

The wild flowersof Chimney Meadows ( S

t e p h e n D a l t o n / n a t u r e p l . c o m )

F

1 0 t h a n n i v e r s a r y



Basking reptilesCatching a glimpse of a reptile soaking up

the spring sunshine is a thrilling sight.

These cold-blooded creatures rely on

external conditions to regulate their own

temperature. Choose a slightly overcast

but warm day to give yourself a good

chance of a sighting. Our heathlandreserves in Berkshire are the best places to

head to with plenty of sandy and stony

basking areas as well as dense vegetation

for cover and a quick escape. At Decoy

Heath take a look around the new log

piles built by our volunteers. You may find

adders, grass snakes, slowworms and

common lizards. Bowdown Woods

borders the heathland of Greenham

Common and among the trees the once-

military buildings dotted around the

‘bomb site’ are now home to snakes and

lizards basking on the concrete rubble.Pockets of heather spreading from the

common provide the ideal habitat too.

Common dog-violetIn May the delicate purple

flowers of the commondog-violet can be found.It is the most common of

our native violets and growson the woodland floor

and in hedgebanks.‘Dog’ means it lacks scent,

unlike its cousin the‘sweet’ violet.

Bank voleThe UK’s smallest vole with its

russet-brown coat and arounded, mouse-like

appearance is out and aboutand producing young from

April to October. In woodland,riverbanks and hedgerows ituses a network of tunnels in

dense undergrowth to searchfor food and avoid predators.

April 2013 7

Dancing grebesGreat crested grebes are delightfully

elegant waterbirds with an elaborate

mating display in spring. Almost defying

gravity, a paired male and female will rise

out of the water, paddling like fury with

their feet, shaking their heads with long

strands of weed in their bills. This bizarre

sight is often referred to as ‘Penguin

display’. In April Foxcote Reservoir and

Calvert Jubilee in Bucks and The Loddon

in Berks are all perfect places to watch this

spectacular performance.

Great crested grebes are also excellent

divers, often travelling long distances

underwater to catch fish and it can be quite

entertaining working out where a

submerged bird will pop up next. On land,

though, they’re incredibly clumsy because

their feet are placed so far back on their

bodies. Later in the spring look out for thestriped and fluffy young that hitch a ride on

their parents’ backs when in need of a rest!

( M a c r o - P

h o t o . c

o . u

k )

( D a v i d K j a e r )

For more information about wildlife near you visit bbowt.org.uk/wildlife/species-a-z

Displaying grebes. (Fabrice Cahez/naturepl.com); The Loddon reserve. (Jim Asher)

Find out more

■ For locations of all nature reserves please see your Where to go for Wildlifehandbook or visit the reserve pages at bbowt.org.uk ■ For our calendar of spring guided walks go to bbowt.org.uk/whats-on

Decoy HeathNature Reserve.(Peter Creed)

Common lizard. (Paul Hobson/naturepl.com)

wildlife news april 2013

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