Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire - Spring 2024

Wild

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire

Let

nature lead

The simple solution to our changing climate

OUR SURVEY SAYS Why we monitor wildlife and what the results tell us

GRASSROOTS CHANGE

Tips to transform your lawn for blooms, bees and bugs

Berkshire Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust

CLIMATE CHANGE

Welcome

This winter’s extensive flooding reminds us of the importance of functioning floodplains, particularly with UK winters forecast to get even wetter. We saw flooding at our Chimney Meadows and Upper Ray Meadows nature reserves, but our work here ensures they do exactly what they should do: hold onto flood water, while protecting communities downstream. Giving nature space to thrive and restoring habitat can help us slow climate change and cope with its impacts. It’s a core area of our work, which you can read about from page 10.

The start of the year marked my 10th anniversary of joining BBOWT. Where has the time has gone?! Even in this short period I have noticed a big change in weather patterns and the serious impacts of this. Yet despite all the threats – climate change, housing development, HS2 – we continue to make a difference.

The Trust consistently holds decision-makers to account on the environment and we are taking direct action to restore nature. Inspired by our work, more people are helping wildlife, and we have connected with more than 200 individuals and local wildlife groups to share our expertise so they can achieve even more. And we continue to educate the next generation on the importance of nature.

From an already strong foundation, I’m immensely proud of how far the Trust has come over the last decade. We look after some of the finest nature reserves in the country, while taking an innovative approach to piecing back together the wildlife-rich landscapes so vital to our wellbeing.

There is still lots to be done, however. With a general election on the cards, now is the time to ask our MPs and parliamentary candidates how they plan to support nature’s recovery. The backing of those in power and the right legal framework are key to achieving this ambitious yet essential goal.

As always, thank you for your vital support. Let’s welcome in the longer days by connecting with nature.

Estelle Bailey, Chief Executive

Wild Berks, Bucks & Oxon is the membership magazine for Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust

Contact 01865 775476, info@bbowt.org.uk

Membership 01865 788300, membership@bbowt.org.uk

Address The Lodge, 1 Armstrong Road, Littlemore, Oxford OX4 4XT

Website www.bbowt.org.uk

President Steve Backshall

Chair George Levvy Chief Executive Estelle Bailey

Wherever you are in the country your Wildlife Trust is standing up for wildlife and wild places in your area and bringing people closer to nature.

Wild Berks, Bucks & Oxon is brought to you by Editor Benedict Vanheems

UK Consultant Editor Joanna Foat

UK Consultant Designer Ben Cook

Design Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Design Studio

Print CKN Print Ltd

Cover Jamie Hall

A large-print version of Wild Berks, Bucks & Oxon (text only) is available on request. Call 01865 775476 or email info@bbowt.org.uk

Enjoy the extended version of Wild Berks, Bucks & Oxon online at bbowt.org.uk/publications

RIC

MELLIS

HAWKINS/SURREY HILLS PHOTOGRAPHY

JIM HIGHAM DAVID

Stay wild

Connect with nature this spring and feel incredible!

Grassroots wildlife

Neat, closely cropped grass often lacks wildlife interest, but given a few tweaks these green deserts can transform into living lawns full of blooms, bees and bugs.

Lawns help keep urban areas cooler in summer, while reducing flood risk in times of heavy rain – and longer grass does this even better! Longer lawns won’t go brown as quickly and offer animals like frogs shelter from the hot sun.

Reduce mowing frequency to once every three or four weeks so flowers like daisies,

Early summer is the perfect time to visit a local wildflower meadow. Expect a wash of colour accompanied by a pulsing thrum, buzz and whirr from insects like bushcrickets and bees. Butterflies and day-flying moths add further movement as they flit between flowers. Keep still for the best chance of admiring them. Find a meadow near you: bbowt.org.uk/reserves

HEAR THIS

No Mow May

Join this year’s No Mow May. Avoid mowing throughout the month and see what wild flowers naturally appear. You’ll be helping struggling pollinators too!

speedwell and dandelion can bloom. Leave a patch to grow even longer, giving caterpillars the opportunity to feed in peace before metamorphosising into moths or butterflies.

Ease off fertilisers and weedkillers and consider introducing native, lawn-friendly wild flowers, which can be bought as plug plants from specialist mail-order nurseries. Tip the balance in their favour by sowing yellow rattle into your lawn. This semiparasitic wild flower reduces the vigour of fast-growing grasses so that other flowering plants have a chance to establish.

SIMPLE STEPS

† Off the grass Very small or awkwardly shaped areas of grass can be a fiddle to mow. Consider replacing them with ground-hugging herbs like creeping thyme or chamomile.

† Bees needs Patchy lawn? Don’t worry, bare areas of sunny lawn provide opportunities for ground-nesting solitary bees to make a home.

† Bring on bulbs Help early bees by planting bulbs like snowdrop and crocus in your lawn.

Make your lawn a haven for wildlife. Download your free Wild About Lawns booklet at wildaboutgardens.org.uk

The dawn chorus reaches its noisy peak in May. Most of the choristers are male, singing to mark out their territory and demonstrate their fitness to potential mates.

Bug’s bonanza

Insects love longer lawns. See if you can attract them.

Common field grasshopper

Thrives in sunny lawns. The males chirrup by rubbing their legs against their wings.

Tawny mining bee

On the wing in late spring. Little mounds of ear th mark the entrance to their burrows.

Meadow brown

Flies throughout summer, even in dull weather. Its caterpillars feed on grasses.

Black garden ant

Our most common ant. Flying adults often swarm in summer as they seek to mate.

SEE THIS

Cuckoo spit has nothing to do with cuckoos or spit! It’s the froth formed as froghopper nymphs suck the sap from their host plant. The foam also hides them from predators.

JON HAWKINS /SURREY HILLS

PHOTOGRAPHY

AMY LEWIS

PHILIP PRECEY

SCOTT

PETREK

JON HAWKINS

ANDREW MARSHALL/ GO WILD LANDSCAPES

Connecting communities

Let us help your local group achieve even more for wildlife

Local perspective

The Bernwood Forest, River Ray and Otmoor Basin are important wildlife habitats, which is why we launched our Living Landscapes project to reconnect these key environmental features and restore the wider landscape around them. The best way to achieve this is by working with local communities, so last year we began our parallel project ‘Reconnecting Communities in the Bernwood, Otmoor and Ray’.

The initial priority for the project, funded by Natural England and run in partnership with Wild Oxfordshire, was to understand what local people think about their landscape, what they are already doing for nature, and how we might support them. We ran several

Free training days

Are you part of a wildlife group in Berkshire? Why not take advantage of one of our free training days, starting with ‘Putting on an event’ on 27 April and ‘Managing a green space for wildlife’ on 11 May To book your free place email: teamwilder@bbowt.org.uk

Our training days will soon be available in all three counties, along with free networking days where you can connect with like-minded people, promote your group, and enjoy free workshops and species ID training. Full details to follow soon.

events to garner interest in the project, encourage feedback and forge new connections.

Lots of wildlife-friendly activity is already underway, from churchyard butterfly surveys to farmers installing ponds in their fields. Schools have been involved in planting up verges and creating nature information hubs, such as the bus stop in Marsh Gibbon.

Those attending our workshops told us they would like help coordinating projects, guidance on working with local authorities, and expert advice on areas such as habitat management. It’s clear a lot of amazing work is going on, and with the right support from organisations such as BBOWT and Wild Oxfordshire even more can be achieved.

We have compiled a resources pack focussing on the special wildlife of the area, with a particular focus on butterflies and hedgerows. We will continue to foster connections between those interested in helping wildlife and support groups in gaining confidence and knowledge.

To find out more about the project email: teamwilder@bbowt.org.uk

#teamWILDER

Discover more ways to get closer to nature. Join in at bbowt.org.uk/ team-wilder

Nurturing through nature

Since launching our Community Network in 2022 we have worked with hundreds of nature lovers from dozens of conservation groups to help wildlife on their doorsteps.

The network’s Facebook group now has more than 250 members, and project officer Lily O’Neill hosts free monthly online meetups where members can chat and get advice on how to help specific species like hedgehogs, owls and badgers.

Groups can access a website with training videos and expert guidance documents on subjects as diverse as great crested newts and the benefits of hedgerows. Communities are also invited to add their projects to the interactive map.

To join the Community Network please visit bbowt.org.uk/ team-wilder-community-groups

MARGARET HOLLAND

ROSS HODDINOTT/2020VISION

WILD NEWS

All the latest local and national news from The Wildlife Trusts

Precious havens

Last season’s wildlife surveys prove the vital role our nature reserves play in providing a haven for wildlife.

Orchids enjoyed a particularly encouraging year, with a record 1,111 rare military orchids counted at Homefield Wood. Volunteer surveyors counted 303 female glow worms at Whitecross Green Wood, while goshawks bred at Foxholes for the first time. At Chimney Meadows a pair of curlew successfully raised two young after their nest was protected with an electric fence.

Elsewhere wildlife declines continue, with numbers of many butterflies, hazel dormice and other species down, demonstrating the urgency required to help the wildlife on our doorsteps.

The 2024 survey season is off to a positive start, however, with volunteers counting 219 pinhead-sized brown hairstreak butterfly eggs at Leaches Farm and Ludgershall Meadows, part of the Upper Ray Meadows. This is a dramatic leap from the last count in 2016, when just 39 eggs were found. The copper-tinged butterfly is under threat from habitat destruction, but by planting and maintaining blackthorn hedges we have created ideal habitat for this declining butterfly.

We are indebted to the many dedicated volunteers who help us complete our wildlife surveys. Turn to page 12 to read more about this important side to our work.

Working for wildlife

Welcome to our latest Investors in Wildlife: Berkeley Homes, DHL Supply Chain, KPMG Reading, Radley College, The Renegade Brewery, and Tieva INC. Thanks too to Ascot Lloyd, Greencore Homes, St Anne’s College and St John’s College for renewing their memberships. And special thanks to CH&CO Catering for their generous donation of £10,000, which supports their strategic commitment to doing the right thing by people, communities and planet. We are

also grateful to the hard-working folk at Novuna for coming out to Snelsmore Common to help maintain important habitat for ground-nesting birds.

Stay up to date

For all the latest news sign up to our e-newsletter at bbowt.org.uk/ newsletter

Wild wander

Amateur photographer Jon Mason has completed his challenge to visit all of BBOWT’s nature reserves in one year. Jon set out to show how easy it is to see incredible local wildlife, documenting visits to more than 80 sites on Instagram and his website, theearlybirder.co.uk. What an achievement – well done, Jon!

Network expands

BBOWT’s Community Network has been awarded more than £84,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund. The grant means we can reach more community groups, supporting them to help wildlife by, for example, carrying out wildlife surveys or learning how to use tools.

Butterfly effect

Celebrate a special occasion or loved one with a commemorative butterfly plaque. Now available at our Nature Discovery and College Lake Visitor Centres, the butterflies can be engraved with your message and are a stunning way to help us raise vital funds. More at bbowt.org.uk/your-wildmemories

Brown hairstreak

LILY O’NEILL

TOM HIBBERT

Brown hairstreak egg

JON MASON

CHRIS DEENEY

Novuna team

VAUGHN MATTHEWS

Inadequate rules leave farm wildlife at risk

Basic rules that help protect hedgerows and rivers on or surrounding farmland expired on 31 December 2023, putting wildlife at greater risk of harm. These rules, known as ‘cross compliance’, had to be followed by farmers if they wanted to receive rural farm payments from the UK Government between 2005 and 2023. To qualify, farmers were not permitted to farm up to the edge of rivers, so as to help prevent soil and farm pollution from being washed into the water. There were also rules about when hedgerows could be cut so that breeding farmland birds were protected at the most important times of year.

Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, the UK Government announced that this rule would cease to exist at the end of 2023 but would be replaced by new UK rules. While the Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

(Defra) has confirmed that new legislation will include plans to maintain cutting bans and 2m buffer strips along hedgerows, it has missed an opportunity to protect hedgerows further while possible exemptions place nesting birds in danger - and all while our already struggling rivers and streams remain at risk of increased pollution.

The Wildlife Trusts have joined forces with National Trust and RSPB to urge the Government to uphold protections for nature while providing much better support for farmers. We would like to see farmers paid to take a ‘whole farm’ approach to nature-friendly farming through better designed payment schemes and access to quality independent advice on the best actions that can be taken on their farms.

Find out more at wtru.st/hedgerows

General election countdown: nature matters!

With a general election expected in 2024, The Wildlife Trusts have been investigating how much nature matters to our supporters and the general public, and whether the nature policies set out by political parties will influence how they vote.

We carried out two nationwide surveys, which revealed that environmental charities are supported by a large and politically diverse range of people – with voters feeling similarly connected to nature, regardless of where they identify on the political spectrum.

Results from Wildlife Trust supporters indicated that 61% would vote based on environmental policies and a further 32% are considering doing the same. Of all those surveyed (including nonsupporters), only 7% didn’t believe that nature loss or climate change were a serious threat to humanity.

The upcoming general election will be vital for our natural world, and these results suggest that voters are calling on all political parties to make bold plans to restore nature, tackle water pollution and halt climate change.

UK HIGHLIGHTS

Discover how

The Wildlife Trusts are helping wildlife across the UK

Squirrelling away

The Great Scottish Squirrel Survey had more participants than previous years, with just under 2,000 red and grey squirrel sightings across the country. Every record helps Scottish Wildlife Trust to understand population distributions and take targeted action to protect red squirrels. Sightings of both species can be reported all year-round. wtru.st/squirrel-sightings

Very vole done

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust is set to bring the UK’s fastest declining mammal, water voles, back from the brink. Half a million pounds from Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme will create vital wetland habitat and restore 50km of rivers to increase water vole numbers. bit.ly/notts-water-vole

Making airwaves

Rutland Water’s more secretive overwintering waterfowl are to be tracked to better understand their movements. The Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust project will use radio telemetry to detect tiny tags fitted to birds such as jack snipe. Monitoring will form part of the Motus project, an international collaboration that uses a network of monitoring stations at key wildlife sites.

JACK SNIPE

© CHRIS DOVER. POLLING STATION

© DANIEL HEIGHTON, SHUTTERSTOCK. WHITETHROAT © ANDREW PARKINSON/2020VISION

Rise and shine!

Hurrah! Spring is here and nature is bursting into life all around us. Time

You’re awesome!

It’s true – if it wasn’t for you, we couldn’t help at-risk species like the military orchid. Your membership makes it all possible.

1 Homefield Wood

Postcode SL7 2HL

Great for… Rare orchids

Size 6 hectares

Map ref SU 814 867 drive.fussed.shrubbery

This intimate nature reserve of woodland, pierced by glades and open grassland is something of a wildlife powerhouse. An incredible floral diversity attracts butterflies, such as marbled whites, silver-washed fritillaries (left), and white-letter hairstreaks, while more than 400 species of moth have been recorded here, including many delightfully named beauties like the netted pug and blotched

Birdsong rings out across the woods where old favourites like the chiffchaff and blackcap are joined in spring by the increasingly rare cuckoo. Keep an

ear out for the crisp, woodwind-like call of the resident tawny owls, which can be heard during the day.

Homefield Wood offers us a conservation success story to be proud of. It was here that a solitary military orchid was rediscovered in 1947 having thought to have been nationally extinct. The Trust has been monitoring orchids at Homefield since 1975, during which time numbers have steadily climbed, reaching an astonishing 1,111 last year.

Military orchids get their name from the petals and sepals, whose shape resembles a helmet, complete with a protruding body of arms and legs and speckled by spots that resemble the buttons on a jacket. These tall-and-proud orchids are painstakingly protected from deer and rabbits by fitting shields around each plant in spring. The orchids flower from late May to early June and are followed later in summer by thousands of the quintessentially Buckinghamshire Chiltern gentian.

Homefield Wood

Military orchid

PAUL UPWARD PHOTOGRAPHY

PAUL UPWARD PHOTOGRAPHY

GO

Wild flowers are delicate. Please take care and remember the WALK code:

Watch where you walk

Abide by the rules of the site

Leave the area as you found it

Keep to the paths

Wild Walks

Make the most of spring on one of our carefully curated circular Wild Walks. There are ten to choose from across all three counties. Find a Wild Walk near you and download the route instructions at bbowt.org.uk/ wild-walks

2 Rack Marsh Foxholes

Postcode RG20 8AQ

Great for… Wetland birds and flowers

Size 4 hectares

Map ref SU 452 694

what3words

doctors.reflector.tanked

Rack Marsh opens a window on how the Lambourn river valley may have looked long before the surrounding meadows were ploughed up or ‘improved’ through drainage. This fine relic of yesteryear

reaches its glorious zenith as spring tips into summer. Look for water meadow flowers like water avens, marsh valerian and marsh bedstraw, tune into the warblers among the sedges, or peer even closer to try to spot the rare but truly tiny Desmoulin’s whorl snail, which is just 2mm across.

Postcode OX7 6QD

Great for… Bluebells, birds and fungi

23 hectares

Map ref SP 255 207

what3words

luggage.blossom.grief

Carpets of woodland bluebells are one of the absolute highlights of spring. You can often smell their sweet perfume carried on the breeze well before

you see them and then… wow… that electric-blue zing of cheer stretching off into the distance. Foxholes is a local bluebell hotspot. Enjoy the display set to a soundtrack of woodland bird song from the likes of nuthatches and treecreepers. Why not make a day of it on the 11km circular Foxholes Wild Walk starting at Shipton-UnderWychwood railway station?

JIM ASHER

3

CHRIS GOMERSALL/2020VISION

The natural solution

Climate change threatens the delicate balance of our natural world with potentially devastating consequences. But nature itself could prove a powerful tool in the fight against the climate crisis, as Kathryn Brown, BBOWT supporter and Director of Climate Change and Evidence at The Wildlife Trusts explains

Like me, you may have noticed strange things happening to our local nature in the past few years. Plants are blooming at odd times of the year; trees and shrubs are dying unexpectedly; some species of birds seem to be on the increase, but others are becoming scarcer.

In my corner of east Berkshire, I watched temperatures exceed 39°C in 2022; wildfires destroyed rare heathland habitat in a nearby National Nature Reserve; and flooding and strong winds this winter have downed trees and flooded homes and gardens. Climate change is here, and it is affecting us in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, as well as globally.

Records smashed

You can find the statistics for what is happening in the annual State of the UK Climate report. Locally, our average

temperatures have increased by over 1°C compared to the average from 1961 to 1990. Extreme temperatures exceeded +1.5°C in some locations in 2022. Our average rainfall has not changed significantly, but we are seeing greater extremes of drought, then flood.

Globally, records were broken across the board in 2023 and we’ve observed a big jump in global temperature compared to even the previous record in 2022. This is extremely worrying, but not surprising. Global greenhouse gas emissions are still increasing, despite decades of international diplomacy to try to bring them down.

What this means for wildlife is hard to predict, but we can see indications. BBOWT published research in 2021 that highlighted threats to species such as dormice, beech trees, and blue tits. Plants and animals can struggle to find food and water in very hot or cold weather.

The timing of birds nesting and available food supply for their chicks is becoming more unpredictable, while warm spells in winter are disrupting hibernation patterns. Very sadly, last year volunteers found just two dormice across the Trust’s reserves, compared to over 100 back in 2004. Climate change is thought to be part of the reason for the huge decline.

Temperature increases raise the risk of both drought and flood.

The natural world offers hope in the climate crisis.

DAVID

from a 20-year career in government working on climate change adaptation (building resilience) and mitigation (reducing emissions). One of my first major projects was to publish a climate change risk assessment and adaptation plan for the next five years for all The Wildlife Trusts. Changing Nature was released in 2022 and highlights the work we are doing to protect our wildlife and wild spaces from the impacts of climate change. However, it also looks at how nature can help us to tackle climate change itself.

The climate and nature crises are so closely interlinked that we cannot address one without the other. We need to let nature help us to reduce climate change and its impacts, as well as protecting nature as much as possible. Particularly in the case of building resilience to climate change, it is local action that matters the most.

BBOWT is doing incredible work to make this a reality. We can see how important nature is for tackling climate change in our local communities through some of the Trust’s flagship projects. One example is at Chimney Meadows, which is acting to soak up water during times of flood, protecting communities further downstream along the Thames. The site as a whole has started to store carbon, rather than emitting it (see panel, right).

Wildlife wins

We are also prioritising nature-based solutions across the whole Wildlife Trust movement. It is one of the three key goals in our collective 2030 Strategy,

and we know what works. Across the country, Wildlife Trusts are investing in projects to manage flood water, reduce urban temperatures, soak up carbon in woodlands and peatlands, and improve soil health, as well as restoring and protecting habitats and improving connectivity so that wildlife can move more easily.

Last year, we published a showcase of just 30 of our hundreds of nature-based solutions projects, with these alone representing an investment of more than £75 million. The Wildlife Trusts are a major player in delivering change on the ground to help tackle climate change, but we need much more of it! The latest figures provided to the government suggest more than £3 billion is needed each year this decade for nature restoration to address climate change impacts.

Every bit of additional action matters in reducing the effects of climate change. You can help by donating to BBOWT’s Nature Recovery Fund to give the resources and firepower necessary to make it happen. Make a difference at bbowt.org.uk/SOS

Natural capital

Nature can lock up carbon while offering a host of other benefits such as flood alleviation, as Head of Ecology Debbie Lewis explains.

In 2017 BBOWT carried out a detailed assessment of the ecosystem service benefits provided by Chimney Meadows, by comparing the land to what it would have been like had the Trust not converted it from an arable farm to a nature reserve.

The findings showed that the creation of 79 hectares of flower-rich meadows on previously cropped fields have resulted in 466 tonnes of carbon dioxide or its equivalent being drawn down and locked up every year. The research also showed that the created wetland habitats at Chimney provide flood risk regulation benefits in the region of £60,000 annually.

Together with the Floodplain Meadows Partnership and the Thames Valley Wildflower Meadow Restoration Project, BBOWT has been looking further into the carbon storage capacity of species-rich floodplain meadows. This threeyear project was funded by Ecover and aimed to investigate the carbon storage capacities of arable fields in comparison to newly restored meadows, meadows restored more than 10 years ago, and ancient wildflower meadows.

Field work finished at the end of last summer and scientists at the Open University are analysing the data to see what it tells us.

Preliminary results suggest that ancient floodplain meadows store 60% more carbon than arable fields.

Dormice are in decline.

Soil sampling at Chimney Meadows to investigate carbon storage capacity.

TERRY WHITTAKER/2020VISION

Surveyors are given a survey pack unique to their allocated survey consisting of a methodology booklet, an accurate map, and a description of every step of the transect route to be walked. Results are recorded on a standardised record sheet. Everything is done to ensure that allimportant consistency from year to year. Staff are on hand to support volunteers and new recruits are usually paired with experienced surveyors to build their confidence in identifying species. Volunteers are also vital in managing all the data collected.

What we monitor

Time and resources are precious so we only plan surveys we know will be useful. Every survey is a priority survey identifying either the key features of a particular habitat or an individual species that is especially rare or vulnerable.

Key features on a chalk grassland such as Hartslock might include whether certain species – both positive and negative – are present and the proportion of scrub cover. Individual species surveys include, for example, our annual snake’s head fritillary count at Iffley Meadows, or

Checking

for signs of the increasingly elusive dormouse.

more frequent extreme weather events as well as warmer winters, which fail to kill as many of the parasites that feed on butterfly eggs and larvae.

Yet monitoring also reveals how careful, targeted management can yield encouraging results. Glow-worm numbers at Whitecross Green Wood have responded to improvements to the grassland and scrub mosaic habitat there, rising to a count of 303 glowing females –the highest total since monitoring began in 1999.

“Volunteers are central to this work. The programme is designed to inspire, train and involve our volunteers as much as possible.”

the military orchid census at Homefield Wood. If these at-risk species are doing well, it is a good indicator that the reserve as a whole is in a healthy state.

Trend setters

Development, habitat fragmentation and climate change are having big impacts on wildlife, even on our nature reserves. For example, the long-term trend for most butterfly species is down, thwarted by

Dartford warblers have bred at Snelsmore Common Country Park for the first time in many years, while surveying at Gallows Bridge Farm this winter recorded 8,595 birds of 45 species, including 2,750 lapwing. Excellent numbers of brown argus and holly blue butterflies at several nature reserves last summer offer hope for two species that have suffered serious declines in recent years.

The results from our survey programme paint a mixed picture. Wildlife across the region – and beyond – desperately needs our help, but sustained action can slow and even reverse worrying declines. Our work in protecting wildlife-rich habitats is essential as it is from here that nature will move into the wider landscape and recover. Our surveyors will be there, every step of the way, monitoring this transformation and evidencing the best approaches in working towards a wilder future.

Why I volunteer

Sylvia O’Brien counts butterflies and undertakes habitat assessments at several nature reserves.

I have been surveying wildlife for more than a decade. It’s a wonderful way to get out and about to different reserves and learn more about what’s there and how each place is managed. It is enormously rewarding too – I’ve met lots of people and learnt a huge amount along the way.

Simon Cousins is a bird surveyor at Chimney Meadows I collect wildlife survey data in all weathers – even gale force winds and freezing conditions! But it’s great to be out in the fresh air knowing that I’m doing my bit to help wildlife. Without this valuable data it wouldn’t be possible to monitor population trends or make considered decisions about habitat management.

Become a surveyor

If you would like to be considered for next year’s survey season and can confidently identify at least one species group (for example birds, butterflies, or dragonflies) please visit bbowt.org.uk/ monitoring-wildlife

TERRY WHITTAKR/2020VISION

Wading in: Scouring the riverbank for evidence of water voles.

KAREN LLOYD

WHAT’S ON

TOP PICK

Teen Rangers

This monthly wildlife club gives young people aged 11-17 the opportunity to join our experienced staff to learn about wildlife and conservation. Participants enjoy activities, outdoor exploration, experiments, games, and crafts. Each hands-on session can include anything from building an amphibian hibernaculum to fire-lighting! Smaller groups ensure participants get the attention they need to learn about the natural world as they gain confidence during their time with us.

Teen Rangers runs at all our education centres and we also offer a Young Rangers club for children aged 8-11. Find out more at: bbowt.org.uk/events

Dawn chorus walk & breakfast

Sat 13 April, Sutton Courtenay Environmental Education Centre

Join a leisurely walk around the reserve as you listen to nature wake up. Followed by breakfast.

An Artist’s Eye: Walk with Smartphone

Thurs 18 April,

Windsor Great Park

Walk through Windsor Great Park’s private woodlands searching for beautiful details to capture.

Highlights from our busy events diary. For full and up-to-date listings or to book visit bbowt.org.uk/events

Adult Weaving Workshop

Thurs 2 May, Sutton

Courtenay Environmental Education Centre

Learn weaving techniques as you make an attractive garden ornament to take home.

Birds on the Balcony: What’s the Bird?

Fri 3 May, Nature

Discovery Centre

Handy hints on how to identify the birds in your garden or on your balcony.

Nature, Natter & Nibbles

Fri 3 May & Fri 7 June, Sutton Courtenay Environmental Education Centre

Enjoy a chat while strolling around the meadows, ponds and woodland.

Dawn Chorus Walk

Sat 4 May,

Nature Discovery Centre

Walk through the beautiful reserve as the wildlife wakes up.

Dawn Chorus Walk & Breakfast

Sun 5 May, Woolley Firs

Join our expert guides on a walk to enjoy the dawn chorus. Followed by a light breakfast.

Birdsong Symphony

Forest Bathing

Sun 5 May, Windsor Great Park

Listen to nature’s symphonic sounds as you unwind and de-stress.

Botanical Illustrations

Weds 8 May, Woolley Firs

Learn about the anatomy of plants while brushing up on drawing skills.

Weaving Our Future

Sat 11 May, Sutton Courtenay Environmental Education Centre

The session combines storytelling, weaving and discussion.

Bat Workshop for Beginners

Weds 15 May, Woolley Firs

Learn about these amazing nocturnal creatures then enjoy a guided walk through the reserve.

Natural Wall Hanging Workshop

Thurs 16 May, College Lake

Create a wall decoration from natural materials with help from Lisa of Growing Bright.

Home Educators’ Day

Tues 21 May, Sat 11 May, Sutton Courtenay Environmental

Join this day of outdoor learning aimed at our local home educating community.

Wildlife Garden Open Day

Weds 29 May, College Lake

Explore the wildlife garden and be inspired to create your own

Sun 2 June, Windsor Great Park Rejuvenate your mind and senses as you focus on the sun’s energy and its impact on the woodland.

Nature Tots

For pre-schoolers who enjoy nature exploring, games, craft, and play. Meet new friends while playing in the great outdoors! Monthly sessions at Windsor Great Park, College Lake, the Nature Discovery Centre, Woolley Firs, and Sutton Courtenay Environmental Education Centre.

Holiday fun!

Our fantastic summer holiday events can now be booked. Sign up to Day Camps for fully supervised fun in nature, Family Trails for engaging walks, pond dipping and much, much more. The Nature Discovery Centre also has events planned for May half term – check the website for details.

JOHN HAWKINS

JOHN HAWKINS

SHUTTERSTOCK

Maddie

Moate

Technology isn’t the enemy

Children have a huge appetite for nature. There’s an enormous world of wonderful wild things for them to discover, if they’re given the opportunity. The right experiences can build a connection to nature that will last a lifetime.

But as children get older, there are more distractions. Interests and hobbies are more likely to be influenced by friends than parents, or by the content they view online. If nature hasn’t fully captured their attention by now, that interest can slip away – though it often resurfaces later in life. So it’s important that we foster that connection to nature from as young an age as possible.

We worry about children’s access to technology being a blocker to spending time outside and connecting with nature. But I think technology can actually play a helpful role in breaking down barriers. As with everything, it’s all about balance. Often we’re out and about in nature, there’s wildlife around us, but we don’t really know what we’re seeing. Putting a name to the things we see or hear can help build an interest, and there are some incredible apps available to help with that, like Merlin Bird ID. You can even use them as a family and learn together.

The way we interact with the world has changed. Computers, apps, social media –they aren’t going away anytime soon. We can embrace them to spark children’s creativity. You can go online and find a tutorial for making pinecone creatures or other wildlifeinspired crafts, or follow role models using their digital platforms to inspire change. We’re seeing a fantastic rise in young nature activists, almost mini celebrities amongst young people. It’s a wonderful thing.

The more our young people care about the environment and nature, the better hope we have for a green and sustainable future. But it’s about far more than that. There’s so much evidence to show that young people who have that connection to nature, who experience nature in their daily lives, are happier and healthier. There are many reasons to encourage children to pursue an interest in nature, and happier children is a big one.

Knowledge of the natural world – and the state it is currently in – can sometimes feel like a burden as well as a blessing. Many of us worry about the future. The climate is changing and we’re seeing huge losses of wildlife. Children are not immune to these fears, and we shouldn’t try to hide the truth from them. But the way we present these facts matters. It’s easy to drown in the negative, but that won’t help to change things.

The most important thing we can do as adults is empower young people to feel like they can actually do something, and that their voice matters. We can help alleviate their climate anxiety by showing them that they can get involved with doing something good for the planet, wherever they live. The best place to start is by setting an example for them to follow, in the way we view nature and the actions we take to help it. If children see the adults around them caring, listening to the concerns, and taking meaningful action to help, it can be a huge inspiration.

Technology can help you connect with wildlife from the comfort of your own home. Check out our webcams:

wildlifetrusts.org/webcams

GET INVOLVED

For ways to help the young people around you to nurture a connection to nature, visit The Wildlife Trusts’ Wildlife Watch website. You’ll find downloadable wildlife spotter guides, self-guided activities, actions to help wildlife and more.

Get inspired at wildlifewatch.org.uk

Maddie Moate is one of the few familyfocused ‘Edu-tubers’ in the UK and has been creating fun educational science videos for the past eight years, amassing more than 210,000 subscribers and over 56 million views on her own YouTube channel.

@maddiemoate

Grow a herb garden

Herbs have been valued for millenia, says gardener Arit Anderson

Not only are herbs great for us, but they also attract wildlife to gardens. Most people think of herbs for seasoning food, which of course they are excellent at doing. So, when I’m asked, ‘which herbs should I grow?’, invariably I reply, ‘the ones you like to eat’! And that’s the best place to start, as many herbs are better when they are repeatedly picked or cut, as they shoot new leaves, which are more flavoursome and potent than older leaves.

Herbs can be grown very easily in small spaces, indoors in a pot on a windowsill, or outside in a window box, and adding more than one will widen your culinary additions. But do make sure the chosen plants like the same soil, water and light conditions.

An expert herb grower, Jekka McVicar, mainly grows her herbs in raised beds. These are easier on the back when

gardening, but it also means she can control the soil conditions and can contain spreading herbs. If you only have a border but want to grow something like lemon balm that will quickly spread everywhere, put it in a large bottomless pot to restrict the roots.

Herbs are a gateway plant to get people, especially children, gardening as they are easy to grow. And alongside this they attract bees, butterflies, moths, birds and other beneficial insects, so it’s win win. There’s not much else I like better than to take a hot cup of water into the garden and pick my own tea!

For advice on growing herbs and wildlife-friendly fruits and vegetables, visit mycoronationgarden.org

Wild marjoram

Otherwise called oregano, this is a fantastic plant. Best in well-drained soil, bees and butterflies love it and it’s great in Mediterranean dishes.

Borage

Copes with dappled shade and is a magnet to many pollinators. Borage flowers look superb frozen in ice and served in drinks.

Fennel

Keep in light, well-drained sandy soil. Great for hoverflies and ladybirds and once they go to seed from autumn, birds can feed on them.

Thyme

Thrives in sun and flowers throughout summer, making this a popular herb with pollinators. Perfect for cooking.

Mint

It’s so easy to grow and its flowers attract bees, moths, butterflies and other pollinators. Loves to spread, so contain in a pot if you don’t want a garden full.

Lemon balm

Spreads easily so it is best to keep it in a container. Great for the bees, I grow it for herbal teas.

Lavender

A sunny spot on welldrained soil is best. Bees and butterflies can’t keep away!

Chives

A moist but well-drained soil will keep chives happy, which in turn keep bees happy. The edible flowers pretty up any salad.

in the UK

Katherine Hawkins, nature policy manager at The Wildlife Trusts, gives an update on the State of Nature report and what it means.

The State of Nature report is perhaps the most comprehensive account of the status of wildlife in the UK. It is produced by a partnership led by the RSPB, consisting of scientists, data analysts, nature conservation experts and communicators from across more than 60 organisations – including The Wildlife Trusts.

The aim is to use the best available data from the past 50 years to better understand and share information on the status and trends of habitats and species across the UK (and the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories).

As well as presenting data and stats, the report also tries to explain the reasons behind the numbers. The findings are widely used to demonstrate the need for greater action for wildlife and to help focus efforts.

The first State of Nature report was published in 2013 and then again in 2016 and 2019. Unfortunately, the latest report –launched in September 2023 – shows that wildlife across the UK is continuing to decline.

The UK continues to be one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.

But it isn’t all bad news. We know the reasons for the declines. We know that conservation actions work. We know what needs to be done.

Fewer and further between

Nearly one in six species is at risk of extinction in the UK.

That is one of the headline statistics from the report. However, when you drill down into the detail behind this alarming statement, the numbers are even more stark for some species. For example, 31% percent of amphibians and reptiles (i.e. one in three) and 26% of terrestrial mammals (equating to one in four) are at risk of extinction across the UK.

Abundance is a measure of the number of a single species. Across the UK, the overall abundance of all the species studied has declined on average by 19% since 1970. However, a single number for all species masks some worrying long-term trends. The average

abundance of moths has declined by 31% since 1970 and the rate of decline has not slowed. At sea, grey seal numbers have increased as they recover from historic hunting pressures but the numbers of 13 species of seabird have fallen by an average of 24% since 1986.

The numbers of common breeding birds has declined by 14% whilst farmland birds have suffered particularly strong declines in abundance of on average 58%. Whereas rare or colonising bird species have shown a strong increase over the long-term to 2020. This increase is due to some species recovering from very low population numbers – so it looks like a big increase –and the arrival of colonising species as a result of climate change.

Where species are found across the UK (known as distribution) is also changing. Since 1970, 54% of flowering plants have decreased in distribution across Great Britain. Invertebrates, such as insects and spiders, have been found,

on average, in 13% fewer places now than in 1970. For those species that are important for pollination and crop pest control, the declines in abundance are even greater.

The report also considers habitat condition. Of the habitats important for wildlife, just one in seven of those assessed were in good condition and, worryingly, just 7% of woodlands and 25% of peatlands were assessed to be in a good state. None of the seafloor around the UK was found to be in good condition, mainly due to damage caused by fishing gear.

Drivers of decline

State of Nature reports on species changes since about 1970 when monitoring and data collection became more widespread and systematic. Before that, the UK had already experienced significant nature loss because of wildlife persecution and the way land use has changed.

Around one in three amphibians and reptiles, including the common lizard, are at risk of extinction in the UK.

Historically, the main drivers of decline have been habitat loss, development and the intensive way we manage our land and harvest our seas. These effects continue but are now being exacerbated by the impact of climate change and extreme weather events.

26% of terrestrial mammals are at risk of extinction across the UK.

Conservation can work

Species recovery and habitat restoration projects make a difference. Improving habitat is good for nature and for people but it also helps to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. For many years, The Wildlife Trusts and a multitude of other organisations have been working tirelessly to restore the natural environment. We know

what we are doing makes a difference but when pitted against increasing and external pressures, wildlife has continued to decline.

The State of Nature report sets out how effective targeted conservation effort has helped. For example, habitat management work has helped to stabilise populations of the Duke of Burgundy butterfly in the North York Moors and, nationally, the threat level for the butterfly has been changed from endangered to vulnerable. Skylark numbers are still falling but more positive trends have been seen where certain agri-environment grants aimed at nature-friendly farming have been adopted.

In Scotland, targeted agrienvironment action has supported corncrake numbers with increases from fewer than 500 males in 1993 to nearly 1,300 in 2014.

Protected areas – such as nature reserves – make a difference too. For example, State of Nature reports on research that has shown that protected areas had almost double the number of rare invertebrates compared to unprotected areas. Protected areas also help species that need to move because of climate change. In the future, the species found on protected areas may change but their importance for nature will remain.

Time for action

The Wildlife Trusts will continue to lead the way in large-scale, ambitious nature recovery projects, such as restoring temperate rainforests across the west of the British Isles and many river restoration projects across the UK, where beavers have been released.

There are also things we need governments to do, such as properly fund nature-friendly farming schemes and more tightly regulate the water industry to halt the pollution of our rivers. The UK Government has also committed to protect and effectively manage at least 30% of land and sea by 2030 through the Global Biodiversity Framework (agreed in December 2022). Responsibility for the environment is devolved, meaning each country of the UK will develop their own way of reaching 30% by 2030. An essential component though will need to be about making a significant difference to nature’s recovery with greater action and implementation as a matter of urgency.

We are in a nature and climate crisis, but like CPR we know that landscapescale conservation can jump start damaged natural ecosystems and save the precious lives of our beautiful native species. Find out more here:

wtru.st/bringing-wildlife-back

COMMON SPOTTED ORCHID © TOM MARSHALL; PUFFIN © CHARLES THODY; DUKE OF BURGUNDY BUTTERFLY © JOHN HIGHAM

Flowering plants, like many orchids, are 54% scarcer than 50 years ago.

Seabirds, like puffins, are suffering from the effects of the climate crisis.

Ali Morse, water policy manager at The Wildlife Trusts, warns of a return to the dirty history of UK waterways

The River Wye is suffering from algal blooms due to high levels of agricultural pollution

Tspills are harming wildlife and wild places

Water voles are one of the species at risk of habitat loss

Ali Morse is water policy manager at The Wildlife Trusts. She works collaboratively across the movement, with all Wildlife Trusts and with other organisations, to call for better protections for the water environment.

he history of UK rivers has seen raw sewage, waste chemicals and heavy metals poured into watercourses day in, day out. Great rivers like the Mersey were practically devoid of life, and as recently as the 1950’s the River Thames was considered ‘biologically dead’. Today our rivers don’t (usually) resemble putrid open sewers lined with dead fish. Yet many problems remain – poor water quality poses a threat to nature, human health and our economy.

Sewage spills

Headlines have exposed sewage spills, but the harm caused to wildlife is little understood. The UK Government’s Environment Act 2021 now requires water companies to monitor impacts and to prevent the most harmful spills. But even when wastewater is treated, the effluent from sewage treatment works may contain industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, household cleaning products, illicit drugs and microplastics. It’s also high in polluting nutrients like phosphorus, which fuel algal blooms, depleting oxygen and harming aquatic plants, insects, fish and other species.

Thanks to campaigning by supporters of The Wildlife Trusts and others, the UK Government was recently blocked from weakening water protections in places where nutrients are already harming sensitive rivers and coasts. These rules are known as nutrient neutrality and require developers to offset additional pollution from sewage from new housing. They help to prevent development from harming our most important wildlife sites.

Farming failures

Farming is the sector responsible for the greatest number of waters failing ecological standards. Excess fertiliser, manure, slurry and eroding soil can all deliver harmful doses of nitrogen or phosphorus to our rivers. Pesticides and veterinary medicines add into the mix. This toxic cocktail of chemicals also flows downstream, contaminating our seas.

Grants can help farmers to provide sufficient storage capacity for slurry and to manage rainwater from yards and roofs that contributes to runoff. Essential environmental schemes encourage farmers to plant cover crops and riverside ‘buffers’ to prevent soil erosion.

Despite these efforts, collectively these pressures mean our waters are under huge strain. Across the UK, only 36% meet ecological standards and are in good enough condition for wildlife. In England, where pressures are greatest, the figure is just 16%. Phosphorus pollution is the most common cause of failure, so water companies are required to upgrade numerous treatment works by 2030 to strip out phosphate, and more action will be needed from farming too.

Working with nature

From Dorset to Durham, Wildlife Trusts are finding novel ways to prevent nutrient pollution reaching our waters and creating habitat where nature can thrive. In Wiltshire, a chalk stream with habitat for spawning brown trout and endangered water vole is being protected by a restored wetland where road runoff and nutrient-loaded sediment is now captured from fields before it reaches the River Avon.

In Scotland, Warwickshire, Shropshire and Herefordshire, Wildlife Trusts are creating wetland features in farmland, river valleys and towns that capture water in the landscape, reducing flood risk downstream and stopping sewers from being overwhelmed. In other areas, beavers are doing this work for us. Termed ‘nature-based solutions’, these approaches see nature playing a central role in helping to tackle pollution, whilst also creating spaces where eels, kingfishers, otters and other aquatic life can thrive.

The old adage ‘the solution to pollution is dilution’ only works up to a point. Instead, the priority must be prevention of pollution at source – all UK governments, farmers, water companies and even the public all have a role to play. But then, when we’ve exhausted all efforts but still have pollution to tackle in our river systems, we know that nature can help.

Ask your local MP what they intend to do about river pollution and whether policies to protect clean rivers are part of their election manifesto. To find out more about our general election priorities visit wildlifetrusts.org/end-river-pollution

ALGAL BLOOM ON THE RIVER WYE © WILL WATSON, NATUREPL.COM; SEWAGE POLLUTION © SHUTTERSTOCK; WATER VOLE © TERRY WHITTAKER/2020VISION

Sewage

migrating birds 6 places to see

pring is a time of great change in the wild world. As the days grow brighter and warmer, millions of birds are on the move. They leave their winter refuges and race back to their breeding grounds, driven by the urge to find a mate and raise some chicks.

Cuckoos, ospreys, warblers and many more birds are returning to the UK from the warmer regions of southern Europe or Africa. They don’t all arrive at once; each species has its own schedule. Sand martins and wheatears begin arriving in March, but quails and nightjars are stragglers, appearing as late as May.

On some spring days, you can see migration in action, with flocks of birds flying overhead on their way to their summer home. Birdwatchers call this visible migration, or vismig for short. But flying is hard work, so keep an eye out for migrants stopping off to spend a few hours refueling before continuing their journey.

Here are six of our best nature reserves for experiencing spring migration.

See the spectacle for yourself

1 Cemlyn Nature Reserve, North Wales Wildlife Trust

An incredible site to visit on the wild coast of Anglesey, with its unique, shingle ridge. Cemlyn welcomes a wide range of wading birds and between May and July is host to nesting colonies of Sandwich, common and Arctic terns.

Where: Anglesey, LL67 0EA

2 Red Rocks Nature Reserve, Cheshire Wildlife Trust

On the edge of the Dee Estuary, this nature reserve is an excellent coastal spot for birdwatching with sand dunes, reed beds and marsh attracting regular spring migrants like reed buntings, sand martins and wheatears.

Where: Hoylake, CH47 1HN

3 Spurn National Nature Reserve, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

One of the best sites in the UK for visible migration, with thousands of birds passing overhead. The adjacent Humber Estuary is of international importance for its vast numbers of wildfowl and wading birds passing through.

Where: Hull, HU12 0UH

4 Christopher Cadbury Wetland Reserve, Worcestershire Wildlife Trust

Worcestershire’s premier bird-watching nature reserve, Upton Warren attracts birds throughout the year. It is home to the UK’s first inland breeding avocets and attracts lots of wading birds while on passage as a vital stop over.

Where: Wychbold, B61 7ER

5 Walthamstow Wetlands, London Wildlife Trust

An internationally important site for migrating birds, Walthamstow Wetlands is excellent for an urban vismig. Just 15 minutes from central London, you will find a unique city oasis to connect with the magical world of migrating birds.

Where: Walthamstow, N17 9NH

6 Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, Sussex Wildlife Trust

In spring, gull numbers increase, and oystercatcher and dunlin feed along the shore and roost on the shingle at high tide. Gannets and flocks of Brent geese also return on their eastward passage to breeding grounds.

Where: Rye, TN31 7FW

Did you spot any migrators?

We’d love to know how your search went.

Please tweet us your best photos! @wildlifetrusts

Got a keen eye for the perfect shot? Then enter our photo competition!

Wildlife Photography Competition 2024

Share your love of the natural world through the lens and show us what you’ve got for the chance to win top prizes.

New for this year’s competition, we are inviting the public to select their favourite photo for our People’s Choice Award.

Overall winner: Bird box camera.

Category winners:

Workshop with Steve Gozdz of GG Wildlife Experiences, copy of BBOWT’s 2025 wildlife calendar, and certificate.

Runners up: Calendar and certificate.

Highly commended: Certificate.

Schools: Children and teen entrants can win a bundle of nature books for their school!

Submit up to four photographs across nine categories:

1. Children (ages 6–11)

2. Teens (ages 12–17)

3. Birds

4. Mammals

5. Butterflies and other insects

6. Our nature reserves

7. Urban nature

Berkshire Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust

Dartford warbler by Darren Prestoe (winner, Birds category, 2023 competition)