In search of tiny white flowers

I love plants and am interested in botany to a degree but I know I will never be a full blown botanist, unlike Dr Alison McDonald and Dr Camilla Lambrick of the Ashmolean Natural History Society of Oxfordshire Rare Plants Group. They like nothing better than hunting down rare plants, no matter how insignificant they may appear and whatever difficult places they thrive in.

Which is why we were to be seen along the road verge at Linch Hill hunting for the tiny white flowers of the Cotswold pennycress Microthlaspi perfoliatum which is monitored by the Rare Plants Group  in three locations in West Oxfordshire. Like many rare plants numbers fluctuate from year to year and it is hard to know exactly what conditions favour their survival. It seems that disturbance that creates bare soil or reduces the growth of more vigorous species helps to create an environment that favours the Cotswold pennycress. Rabbit grazing can also help as it keeps the sward short and there has previously been quite a lot of rabbit grazing at this site, but there was little sign of rabbit activity here this year.
A few drainage grips were created a few years ago and they seemed to provide a good environment for a while. But they are largely overgrown now and need to be cleared out and some new ones dug further along the road.

There are three plants that are very similar with tiny white flowers, Bittercress Cardomine spp and Whitlow grass Erophila verna, an identification of the Cotswold pennycress depends on the shape of the seed head. After a false start we were pleased to find 21 flowering plants so it is still hanging on in what might seem the most inhospitable of places. I am sure that anyone driving by would have wondered why we were staring so intently at a grass verge as the plant would not be visible to a passing motorist.

 

 

Toads on the move

Walking along the footpath along the north shore of the Standlake Common Nature Reserve last week I came across this happy couple of common toads (bufo bufo). I would have liked to give them a helping hand but it wasn't obvious where they were aiming for. I had assumed that they would be heading for a pond but they were several hundred metres away from the nearest ponds and would have had to cross the Brighthampton Cut to get to them. 

Looking for more information I found the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation site (http://www.arc-trust.org/animals/common_toad.php) that suggests that toads like deeper water so maybe they were heading for one of the lakes either the reserve lake or one of the 3Ts lakes next door.

 

 



For more information about frogs and toads and making your own ponds the Oxford based national charity Pond Conservation (http://www.pondconservation.org.uk/) has a wealth of information. This organisation has a mission to create 30,000 new ponds by 2020 to help to redress the massive loss in ponds during the last century. They have been instrumental in helping the LWVP create several new ponds in the Lower Windrush Valley at Standlake Common and Rushy Common Nature Reserves and also in Witney Lake Country Park. These ponds are already providing good habitat to a wealth of plant and animal species, some of which are quite rare.

Minerals Planners study in the valley

For the third year running Lewis Herbert from Anglia Ruskin University ran a two day course entitled Minerals Planning Essentials, based at Eynsham Hall. Course participants came from local authority planning departments, minerals and waste consultancies, the Crown Estate, National Park planning departments etc., to learn about the latest legislation and guidance on the very complex and rapidly changing issues relating to Minerals Planning.
The setting at Eynsham Hall is very picturesque and the facilities for courses are excellent. Last year I attended the course in the first month of starting in my post at the Project and felt quite overwhelmed by all the legislation and planning terms. It was a relief to be more familiar with the subject this year as I attended on the first day as one of the  presenters. I talked about the origins of the Lower Windrush Valley Project proposed in the 90's in response to the increasing impacts of sand and gravel extraction in the valley and the work of the Project since it opened in  2001. I then introduced the site visit for the afternoon to the Gill Mill sand and gravel extraction site. Owned and run by Smiths (Bletchington) this site is perfect for viewing the complete process of extraction from beginning to end. Peter, the quarry manager, and Fred, the site foreman, showed us round the site.

 We were able to see the next area for extraction where the surface soil had been stripped, with the top soil piled into bunds around the working area. These excavations are always accompanied by archaeological teams to record any finds before extraction commences and they can just be seen here working in the distance. Finds at Gill Mill have been quite considerable, especially from roman times with a road and quantites of pottery, coins etc.

Just 100 metres away we could also see the current excavation with an excellent view of the sand and gravels overlying the Oxford clay below. It was hard to believe that just a few weeks ago excavation was halted for several weeks as this site was completely under water due to the extensive flooding in the area. This pit will be restored to low level recreational use that has not yet been finalised, but will probably be for fishing of some description.

 We then walked round Tar Lakes to see how the restoration, designed primarily for public enjoyment, has been achieved. Lakes, ponds and ditches, new blocks of woodland and hedging are all easily visible from new paths that are designed for wheelchair access. The public footpath that crosses the site along the eastern boudary has been left as a grassy path to provide a quieter more natural area.

Even with the frequent visitors that the Tar Lakes site is now attracting it will provide good habitat for many species of invertebrates, small birds and mammals and the odd coot, great crested grebe and mallard. There were great displays of dragonflies and damselflies here last summer.




We then visited the bird hide at Rushy Common Nature Reserve which is only accessible through the purchase of a key from the project office. The contrast between the nature reserve and the Tar Lakes site was very clear as we viewed the large numbers of birds in the reserve

 

Over 100 bird species have been recorded at this hide  since it opened to the public in 2011. During the winter significant numbers of waterfowl have been resident here and during the summer waders, ducks and geese have nested here. If you are lucky you will see kingfishers and maybe a peregrine or sparrowhawk flashing by.



A key can be purchased for £10, giving 24hr access for the forseable future. Contact the LWVP project office tel:01865 815426. The key also gives access to the two hides at Standlake Common Nature Reserve.

Swallows, sand martins and cowslips

It was great to see a mixed flock of over a hundred swallows and sand martins today feeding and drinking at Standlake Common Nature Reserve. It was quite strange; as I watched their acrobatics with such delight I still had excellent sightings of a couple of goldeneye and some pintails that are still hanging around. They should have moved off to their breeding grounds some time ago. Still no sign of redshank and no lapwings here at all I think they are all over on Otmoor. Those of us who help out with the RSPB breeding wader survey are supposed to start on the 15th but there is no sign of much breeding activity of any species round here just yet. Antony saw his first chiffchaff along the lane so it is only a matter of time.
On the Langley's Lane SSSI the cowslips are just poking through and it looks as if there are going to be good numbers despite the months of flooding. Or maybe because of the months of flooding?

Just call for Ian

The intrepid LWVP volunteering group got on their hands and knees again to help clear away the plastic tree guards around the screening trees from the car park to the bird hide. This was the first job that the group has taken on at Rushy Common Nature Reserve.

On a bitterly cold day we all agreed that it was warmer lying on the ground than standing up in the easterly wind. So Ian, Ian and Ian and Terry, Steve, Josephine and I revisited our childhood years of crawing through local woods and making dens.

 

You don't have to be called Ian to join the group but it helps.

 

That looks better now we can leave the birds in peace to get on with nesting if only the weather would warm up a bit.

 

Rural craft in good hands

The sight of a newly laid hedge is pleasing both for the aesthetic appearance and also for good conservation value. This craft is still popular in the valley and several sympathetic landowners are still managing their hedges in this way as along Cogges Lane by Rushy Common Nature Reserve. Professional hedgelayers, Derek and Mike, have been very busy over the winter and their work at Cogges Lane has resulted in a fine example of restoring an overgrown and unmanaged, old hedge. It might look rather severe at first but it will soon thicken up and provide a much better habitat for birds, invertebrates and small mammals.

The initial appearance of a laid hedge varies enormously depending on what the hedge was like before. This hedge at Cogges Lane had a lot of gaps between old trees so the newly laid hedge looks quite thin in places at the moment.

On Standlake Common Nature Reserve volunteers, Martin and Jim, had easier material to work with as the trees were only planted ten years ago to provide a screen for the nature reserve lake.


The trees were close together and the result is a nice thick hedge.
Laying a new hedge like this will give it a solid foundation for the future and create a much better habitat for invertebrates, nesting birds and small mammals.