Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Magazine - Winter 2022

On 23 September, the Truss Government published its Growth Plan promising to ‘release the huge potential in the British economy by tackling high energy costs and inflation and delivering higher productivity and wages’. What followed was a string of announcements that threaten to put nature in peril, accompanied by a shift in policy that signals massive deregulation of environmental protections.

Despite the change in Government the future remains unclear with planning reforms and the new Environmental Land Management Scheme now under review. The Government also announced new Investment Zones, which could give the green light for developers to concrete over some of our most important wildlife sites.

Then there is the new bill that paves the way for the review or revocation of hundreds of laws with their origins in EU policy. This includes many of our environmental regulations, such as the Birds and Habitats Directive. If these laws are weakened or removed, we could end up with more pollution and wildlife lost.

Environmental charities have responded in unison. The Wildlife Trusts, RSPB, National Trust and others, with more than eight million members between us, have got behind a new #DefendNature campaign to try and stop this appalling attack.

If we are to defend our beleaguered wildlife we must fight back – and we are. BBOWT has supported The Wildlife Trusts in standing up to these senseless plans. Nature, already pushed to the brink, cannot be abandoned to further degradation.

Thank you for your support; we need you more than ever right now. Please continue to put pressure on your local MP to defend nature.

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 brought to you by Editor Ben Vanheems

UK Consultant Editor Tom Hibbert

UK Consultant Designer Ben Cook Design Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Design Studio Print CKN Print Ltd

Cover Tom Marshall

Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire | Winter 2022

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

Estelle Bailey, Chief Executive

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife

Our amazing volunteers The selfless army giving their time

Dead good Why deadwood is alive with wildlife

Harbingers of spring Early bloomers herald a new season

RIC MELLIS

MATTHEW ROBERTS

CHRIS GOMERSALL/2020VISION

Your wild winter

WINTER SPECTACLE

Stoatally awesome!

Stoats are sleek and efficient predators with a bounding gait and are closely related to the weasel. Their preferred prey is small rodents like mice and voles, birds and their eggs and, despite being just 30-40cm in length, rabbits, which they ruthlessly despatch with a short, sharp bite to the back of the neck. Watch out for stoats in both woodland and nearby areas of open grassland.

Stoats and weasels look very similar, so how you can you tell them apart, particularly given the typically fleeting encounter afforded by these fast movers? The trick is in the tail. Stoat tails are longer with a black tip, while stubbier weasel tails are completely brown. Smaller weasels stay close to the ground and do not bound.

SEE THEM THIS WINTER

† Warburg Nature Reserve There’s a chance of seeing both stoats and weasels in this sprawling woodland wonderland. † Little Linford Wood Spot stoats along the woodland rides where they hunt among

Winter is prime time for stoat sightings at Moor Copse. Look out for foxes and signs of

Thank you!

Stoats, weasels, otters and badgers are mustelids, a family of mammals you’re helping protect through your membership.

Thank you!

Stoats mate in early summer. Females can become pregnant just weeks after being born but will delay implantation of the fertilised egg until they have reached maturity the following spring.

The best of the season’s wildlife and where to enjoy it on your local patch

RICHARD STEEL/2020VISION

New Year Plant Hunt

Simple pleasures

Winter may be a quieter time of year, but there’s still lots to enjoy

Harbingers of spring

The dank, dark months of winter aren’t associated with wild flowers. Nevertheless, there are plenty of early starters – or late finishers – to be seen. Around two per cent of plant species flower in the winter. Some bloom on and off throughout the year, while others courageously poke through to signal spring’s approach.

Lawn and grassland plants lead the fray, with flowers such as dead-nettle, yarrow, herbrobert and the ever-present daisy popping up here and there. Common ‘weeds’ like groundsel and chickweed flower at just about any time of the year, while the odd spray of cow parsley – which reaches its frothy peak in April – may be seen as early as February in mild winters.

Of course, it’s the winter-flowering bulbs

Join

bsbi.org/new-yearplant-hunt

that bring so much-needed cheer. Snowdrops and crocuses are keenly anticipated, a support act of primroses only adding to that sense of jubilation. While these early bloomers lift our spirits, they are essential sources of food for bees emerging on warmer, sunny days.

FIND THEM THIS WINTER

† Warburg Nature Reserve Any time of year is magical at Warburg. Winter brings drifts of snowdrops to pierce the gloom.

† Ardley Wood Quarry This old quarry wakes early with a broad range of early flowering treasures, from primroses to hellebores.

Discover the best flowers for bees and other pollinators: bbowt.org.uk/actions

Clever corvids

The crow family is seen as being particularly clever, but is this bird brainbox reputation really justified? Yes!

Raven

Can follow a person’s gaze and will change how it stores its food to outwit competitors. Britain’s largest corvid.

The common crow has an uncommon intelligence. One of its tricks is to drop nuts under passing cars to crack them.

Rook

Similar to the crow but with a grey bill. Rooks will use tools and have been observed making new ones.

Hedge fund

Native hedging is worth a lot to local wildlife: a place to seek shelter, food, and a safe way to move between gardens. Winter is the best time to plant new hedges and shrubs, so long as the ground isn’t waterlogged or frozen. Choose flowering and fruiting species for maximum wildlife value. Mulch around new plantings and avoid trimming during the nesting season. More at bbowt.org.uk/how-make-hedge-wildlife

SHOP THIS

Browse our online shop for beautifully curated Christmas gift ideas, stationery, cards and BBOWT’s stunning 2023 wildlife calendar. Visit bbowt.org.uk/shop

SEE THIS

Carrion crow

PAUL LANE

the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland’s New Year Plant Hunt and help track how wild flowers are responding to a changing climate. Begin your hunt at

ANDY KARRAN

CHRIS MCGUIRE

GILLIAN DAY

CHRIS GOMERSALL/2020VISION

Winter farmland is your best bet for spotting sparrowsized yellowhammers. The males stand out within a mixed flock thanks to their bright yellow head and chest.

David Oakes Ancient trees

You start by entering your postcode. A few moments later you’re rewarded with a map. Your home is at the epicentre, with every veteran, ancient, and potentially superstar tree marked accordingly, radiating outward from your front door. This is the Ancient Tree Inventory.

My map shows the remains of the medieval village of Marsden. My oldest neighbour is Tree #158744 — simply “’44” to me. It’s a pedunculate oak, over 6.5 metres in girth and easily 500 years old. Maybe 600. Maybe more… Chances are that it is the last living survivor of long-lost Marsden. Type in your postcode and you may discover you live next to one of hundreds of ‘celebri-trees’: perhaps the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ sycamore that birthed the Trade Union movement? Or maybe John Evelyn’s black mulberry, supposedly planted by Tsar Peter I as an apology for his drunken antics! Who knows what these trees really saw, but what’s important is that they remain. A tree isn’t just one organism, it’s a metropolis for life. My Marsden oak can support well over 1,000 species: birds, mammals, invertebrates, lichens, fungi, bryophytes… Every nook of our nation’s biodiversity. In fact, the pedunculate oak supports more unique species than any other of our native trees. And the longer they stay in the ground, the more interconnected they become with the life they support. The late, great, Oliver Rackham said: “Ten thousand oaks of one hundred years are no substitute for one five-hundred-year-old oak tree.”

Our ancient trees are often found within ancient forests that have existed since our very first maps. Some could stretch back as

far as the last ice age. Ever since, they have nurtured dense biological multi-species interactions. Without them, we’re just dusty skeletons living in housing estates.

This summer, wildfires exacerbated by human behaviour burned across the globe and parts of the UK reached unprecedented temperatures of more than 40 degrees. Ironically, the shade of a tree may be your best bet at remaining cool. Through transpiration, the area beneath a tree remains degrees cooler than a similar area shaded by a man-made structure. But even as the country cooked, bulldozers were poised to tear down ancient trees for the Government’s high speed rail link.

The Cubbington Pear Tree, #74902 on the Ancient Tree Inventory, was voted the 2015 “Tree of the Year”. More than 250 years old, it was then the second oldest wild pear in the country, possessing a girth of almost four metres. Pear trees’ fruit and blossom harbour abundant mammal, bird, and invertebrate life. This tree, and the biodiversity it homed, was destroyed in October 2020 so that Birmingham could become 12 minutes closer to London. On the Ancient Tree Inventory, the Cubbington Pear Tree is now simply marked as “Lost”.

Every tree lost is a blow to nature. Every ancient tree lost expedites the collapse of our nation’s biodiversity. We have to protect these ancient treasures.

Construction work for HS2 continues to damage and destroy irreplaceable habitats. Find out more and how you can help at wildlifetrusts.org/hs2

PUTTING TREES ON THE MAP

The Ancient Tree Inventory is run by The Woodland Trust and maps over 180,000 of the oldest and most important trees in the UK. You can explore the trees near you, or add your own special trees, at ati.woodlandtrust.org.uk

David Oakes is an actor, podcaster, and ambassador for The Wildlife Trusts. When he’s not on set or treading the boards, he’s out walking in a glorious wild place talking to experts about the natural world and celebrating it in his podcast, Trees A Crowd

Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire

@David_Oakes @doakesdoakes

WILD NEWS

All the latest local and national news from The Wildlife Trusts

VOLUNTEERING

Volunteer Awards 2022

Well done to the winners of this year’s Volunteer Awards! Especial congratulations go to our five Lifetime Achievement Award winners.

Richard Herbert has been involved with BBOWT since 1984, most recently as a surveyor of hazel dormouse boxes at Bowdown Woods. Ken Thompson has volunteered for more than 30 years in various roles at College Lake, while David Litchfield has recently retired as senior work party member at Warburg Nature Reserve, where he volunteered for at least 15 years.

Formidable duo Richard and Julie Birch have maintained and developed the Chilterns Volunteer Group for nearly 20 years, while Ched George receives a Lifetime Achievement award in recognition of his tireless devotion as Volunteer Warden of Yoesden.

Of course, we are grateful to all our incredible volunteers for their hard work and commitment to wildlife. Thank you so much! You can see all our winners at bbowt.org.uk/volunteer-awards-2022

Stay up to date

Visit bbowt.org.uk/ newsletter to sign up for our latest news, delivered to your inbox.

Damsels in redress

Record numbers of the rare southern damselfly were counted in a recent survey at Parsonage Moor. The 425 total is an almost fourfold jump on the previous record count. Targeted management work in and around the runnel flowing through the site has produced perfect conditions for this very localised species.

Shipped in

Two shipping containers have been transformed into bespoke hides for bird watchers at the Nature Discovery Centre. A grant of £123,000 from waste management company Grundon via the Landfill Communities Fund also funded new nature trails and more plant-filled margins around the lake.

HS2 wins injunction

HS2 Ltd has won a High Court injunction which restricts people’s right to peacefully protect nature right along the route. The injunction makes it a criminal offence for anyone to enter what the company calls ‘HS2 land’ or to delay its operations. It also criminalises ‘slow walking in front of vehicles in the vicinity of the HS2 Land’.

We are bitterly disappointed by this decision. Matthew Stanton, Head of Planning and Advocacy, outlines our position: “This injunction is an affront to democracy, undermining people’s rights to make their voices heard.”

Guilty read

Annabel Christie is kindly donating all proceeds from her new book

The Guilty Gardener to BBOWT. The book weaves together a contemporary journey of rewilding her Oxfordshire garden. Part nature memoir, part guide to wildlife gardening, the book is illustrated with beautiful line drawings. Available in all good bookshops or order at troubador.co.uk/bookshop/ environment

PAUL SIMMONS

Wildlife garden group

HS2 security at Calvert Jubilee

Southern damselfly

Wonderful WildFest!

Like everyone we were delighted to reconnect following two years of Covid restrictions. To celebrate, this summer we held WildFest – three weekends of guided walks, talks and activities to explore the incredible wildlife in our area and the people who help protect it. Thank you to all who attended – it was lovely to meet you – and to our amazing staff and volunteers who made WildFest such a success.

Working for wildlife

A warm welcome to our newest Investor in Wildlife member: Ascot Lloyd - Independent Financial Advisers in Reading. Huge thanks to Blenheim Palace, Freeths Solicitors Oxford, University College Oxford, and Sophos IT security in Abingdon for renewing their memberships. Thank you also to The Vale Brewery, near Brill, who launched Brock’s Den, a traditional ruby ale and donated 10p per pint to BBOWT.

The Queen

Queen Elizabeth II was celebrated for her passion for the outdoors, the countryside and rural life, lending her support to the work of The Wildlife Trusts and many environmental charities over the years. The Wildlife Trusts are proud to have been a part of Coronation Meadows — an inspirational idea to mark the 60th anniversary of The Queen’s Coronation in 2013. These meadows will stand as a lasting natural legacy. So far, 90 new meadows have been created, including…

Eyecott Hill, Cumbria

Meadows at Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s Eycott Hill nature reserve were brought to life with traditional Cumbrian hay meadow flowers and grasses. The restored meadows have provided inspiration for textile arts project for adults with learning disabilities and older people with dementia.

Fir Grove, Norfolk Roadside verges hold some of the last fragments of Norfolk’s flower-rich meadows, providing a seed base to create farmland meadows once more. Norfolk Wildlife Trust volunteers helped harvest green hay from a roadside nature reserve to create the seven acre Coronation Meadow at Fir Grove.

Wildfires are becoming more common due to climate change

Crisis calculations

The Wildlife Trusts have published a groundbreaking report examining the projected impacts of climate change on our nature reserves. It assesses the risks of a changing climate and what we need to do to help nature adapt. The report shows that extreme weather is already affecting many nature reserves through wildfires, flooding, and drought. Research finds that by the

2050s, half of our nature reserves will have 30+ days of very high fire risk a year, and 55% will see nearby river flows drop by more than 30% during times of low flow. The report also shares innovative Wildlife Trust projects that aim to reduce the impacts on wildlife. Read the report at wtru.st/changingnature

Upper Ray Meadows, Buckinghamshire

The Upper Ray is home to some of the most diverse flower-rich wet grasslands in lowland Britain. The meadows have seen large-scale habitat creation and restoration projects, such as new pools, scrapes and ditches to attract locally-scarce wading birds like curlew and lapwing.

Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire

SCORCHED RESERVE © ADAM BOULTON SURREY WILDLIFE TRUST. KNAPWEED © VAUGHN MATTHEWS

REMEMBERING HER MAJESTY

WildFest

SEAN OAKLEY

WHAT’S ON

TOP PICK

Sustainable Christmas trees

Join us for our annual Christmas tree event. The Scots pines sold are sourced from our nearby heathland reserves. These truly green Christmas trees are sustainably grown, freshly cut the weekend of the sale, and are needle drop resistant. Felling the trees helps with heathland management and restoration. Wreaths and stars made from locally coppiced willow, Christmas gifts, cards, calendars, holly, and pinecones will also be available to purchase.

n Wildmoor Heath car park, Crowthorne.

Sat 3 Dec, 11am-3pm

n Caversham Court Garden, Caversham, Reading.

Sat 3 Dec, 9.30am-1pm

n Nature Discovery Centre, Thatcham.

Sun 4 Dec, 10am-3pm

n Wreath Making Workshops

Get creative and learn a new skill at our Wild Winter Wreath Making Workshops at Woolley Firs (Berks), College Lake (Bucks), Nature Discovery Centre (Newbury), and Sutton Courtenay Environmental Education Centre (Oxon). This is a lovely way to get into the festive spirit while creating a beautiful, sustainable wreath to take home. All fresh wild materials are provided, gathered from our local reserves, but please feel free to bring your own extras such as ribbons and ornaments. Help your local Wildlife Trust and save on packaging this festive season. Booking essential.

Thurs 1 Dec, 11.30am-1.30pm (College Lake), 4.30-6.30pm (College Lake - family workshop); Fri 2 Dec, 6.30-8.30pm (Sutton Courtenay); Sat 3 Dec, 10am-12pm (College Lake), 1pm-3pm (College Lake - family workshop); Sun 4 Dec, 10am-12pm, 1-3pm (Nature Discovery Centre)

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

Team Wilder Community Network

Our Team Wilder Community Network is progressing apace. The network was set up to support people and groups in sharing knowledge about how they and their community spaces can serve to benefit wildlife. The network already has more than 80 members on its Facebook group. Join too if you would like updates and to network with other members in the area: facebook.com/groups/ bbowtcommunitynetwork

We also hosted our first monthly meetup. The meeting included a presentation on recruiting and inspiring volunteers by Volunteering Development Manager Ro Turan, followed by time for attendees to share ideas and network. This was the first of many planned meetups. For information on future topics and who will be presenting, please join the Facebook group, or book on to the Zoom meetings through our events page: bbowt.org.uk/events

#teamWILDER

Join in with Team Wilder. Get started at bbowt.org.uk/ team-wilder

PETE CROME

#teamWILDER

We will bring you more on the networking hub as it develops. In the meantime, discover ways you can help nature, or share what you’re doing for wildlife on our interactive map at bbowt.org.uk/team-wilder

Picture perfect

The results of the BBOWT Photography Competition are in!

After a two-year absence the BBOWT Photography Competition returned with an exceptionally high standard of entries. It made judging particularly hard, but after much debate and scrutiny we can now reveal our winners.

Our overall winner is Roy McDonald for his stunning shot of a buzzard in flight at College Lake. Roy receives a Panasonic LUMIX 30x Optical Zoom Camera, while all winners will enjoy a photography workshop with wildlife photographer Steve Gozdz of GG Wildlife Experiences. Photos will also be proudly displayed in the 2023 BBOWT calendar. Thank you to everyone who took part in what was a very closely fought competition. To admire all the winning and runner-up photos please visit bbowt.org.uk/photo-competition-2022

Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire

Overall Winner and Winner Flora and Fauna Category: Buzzard at College Lake by Roy McDonald

Winner, People in Nature, Petra Mohr

Winner, Nature Reserve Landscapes, Charlotte Day

Winner, Teenagers, Zachery Osborne

Winner, Team Wilder, Helen Touchard-Paxton

Winner, Children, Roly Lewis

Nature needs you

Your ongoing support means we can continue to create places where wildlife can thrive. Thank you!

Breath of fresh air

It’s a winter wonderland out there. Wrap up warm and stride

1 Inkpen Crocus Field

Postcode RG17 9PT

Great for… Early blooms Best time to visit Winter to summer Size 3 hectares Map ref SU 370 641

Inkpen Crocus Field may be one of our smaller nature reserves, yet it’s here you will find Britain’s biggest display of wild spring crocuses. It is hard to know exactly how many of the purple and white blooms there are, but we can safely say upwards of 400,000. That’s quite something!

The show commences from late February, depending on the season’s progress, and is a spirit-soaring sight to rival any bluebell display. There’s quite a lot of variation in the flowers themselves. Some are plain, some striped, and each comes out in its own time, ensuring this eye-catching vernal carpet of blooms continues for at least a month.

For the most intense display head over to the eastern side of the field. Just

watch where you’re walking because they are just about everywhere! Other early flowers to look for include clumps of primrose, peeking out from beneath the scrub on the field the other side of the small, spring-fed stream.

The question is, how did all these crocuses get here? There are two schools of thought on this. One is that they arrived here from central Europe with returning 12th-century Crusaders. The other, less romantic explanation is that they are simply garden escapees that have gradually spread over the past few centuries. However they got here, these pollen-heavy early risers provide muchneeded forage for early bees.

Schedule a return visit for midsummer when the field beyond the stream becomes awash with other wild flowers. Showstoppers include orchids like the white-pink heath spotted-orchid, scabious, knapweed, and ever-cheering oxeye daisies, all waited on by a kaleidoscope of butterflies such as the gatekeeper and ringlet.

Inkpen Crocus Field

ADRIAN WALLINGTON

ADRIAN WALLINGTON

GO EXPLORE THIS WINTER

Help wildlife for generations to come

Gifts in Wills help us protect wild spaces like our nature reserves, so that local species can thrive. Your future support could help BBOWT achieve remarkable things for wildlife. Find out more at bbowt. org.uk/leave-legacy where you can download our free Guide to Making a Will booklet, or phone our membership team to talk in confidence on 01865 788300.

Find your nearest nature reserve at bbowt.org.uk/reserves

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

2 CS Lewis Nature Reserve

Postcode OX3 8JD

Great for… Hidden escape Best time to visit Spring to autumn Size 2.5 hectares Map ref SP 560 067

There’s something magical about the intimacy of this nature reserve, particularly given its urban surroundings and proximity to Oxford’s ring road. Yet here the tranquil

woodland and large pond offer a sense of timelessness. Once belonging to local author CS Lewis, this precious space remains a wildlife haven to this day. Frogs and toads spawn in the pond from late winter, while moorhens (red beak) and coots (white beak) busy themselves feeding on the water. The steeply rising woods come alive with birdsong later in spring.

3 Weston Turville Reservoir

Postcode HP22 5PS

Great for… Winter wildfowl Best time to visit Winter to summer Size 19.5 hectares Map ref SP 859 097

The reservoir was dug in 1797 to supply water to an arm of the Grand Union Canal. Over the years its edges have been softened by colonising wetland plants. Unsurprisingly this open stretch of water is

a magnet for all manner of wildfowl, including ducks: tufted, wigeon, teal, and shoveler. Water rails hide among the vegetation but give their presence away by their grunts, groans, and piglet-like squeals. If you are very lucky you may catch sight of the elusive bittern, or perhaps spot a heron waiting patiently for a fish supper. Spend some quiet time in the hide to take it all in.

Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire

AYLESBURY

CHESHAM AMERSHAM

BEACONSFIELD SLOUGH WINDSOR BRACKNELL

READING

THATCHAM

NEWBURY

DIDCOT

ABINGDON

WITNEY OXFORD THAME

BICESTER

BANBURY BUCKINGHAM

MILTON KEYNES

JIM ASHER

KATRINA

MARTIN

Our amazing volunteers

Without our 1,700 dedicated volunteers we would not be able to achieve nearly as big an impact for wildlife. Anyone can volunteer, and as Volunteer Development Manager Ro Turan reveals, the opportunities to do so are diverse

Our volunteering programme is the foundation of BBOWT’s activities. All that extra effort and time is given so freely by our generous volunteers, for which we are incredibly grateful. Ultimately it means we can do more for local wildlife, extending our impact further to protect even more special places and species.

Common among all volunteers is a belief in the importance of BBOWT’s work and a desire to take action for nature. In return volunteers have the opportunity to enjoy gentle exercise in the fresh air, forge new friendships with other volunteers, and experience those feel-good endorphins that come with knowing you’re playing your part in nature’s recovery. It is no exaggeration to say that volunteers touch every aspect of our work.

Survey teams

Work parties

The majority of volunteers join work parties preserving and restoring habitats on our nature reserves. Tasks might include, for example, removing hawthorn and dogrose from grassy areas, or piling deadwood into insect havens. Volunteers learn skills such as fencing and scything on the job as part of their role.

Work parties are often led by a ‘key volunteer’ who takes responsibility for the work and the group. BBOWT has 40 key volunteers, some of whom are also reserve wardens. They are the experts on their reserves and have devoted many years to managing their sites. Needless to say, we are indebted to this dedication and knowledge.

The survey programme involves more than a hundred volunteers surveying butterflies, birds, dragonflies, and habitat conditions. Many hours are then spent entering the collected data into the computer. The results inform how we manage our reserves and contribute to national recording schemes. The survey programme would not be possible without these passionate volunteers. In addition, our Wider Countryside Team undertakes work beyond our reserves. They are supported by volunteers who survey water vole populations and help with our badger vaccination programme.

Wildlife Ambassadors

Our Wildlife Ambassadors campaign for wildlife by lobbying MPs and local councillors. They receive information about current issues and advice about effective actions from the Campaigns Team. A key member of that team is a very knowledgeable and determined volunteer whose expertise is greatly valued.

Find out more Learn more about

at bbowt. org.uk/volunteer

the benefits of volunteering and the opportunities available

MATTHEW

ROBERTS

12 Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire | Winter 2022

A warm welcome BBOWT’s visitor centres provide an opportunity for members of the public to learn about and appreciate wildlife. Volunteers offer their time to greet visitors, offer advice and information, and enhance the visitor experience. They help in the shops and cafés, as ‘guides in the (bird) hides’, and maintain the wild gardens and orchards. Without these committed volunteers College Lake Visitor Centre and The Nature Discovery Centre could not operate.

Inspiring young minds

An important part of BBOWT’s work is providing lifelong learning opportunities at our four education centres. Our learning officers are assisted by a wonderful team of volunteers who provide practical support and expertise during the setup and delivery of sessions. All our learning volunteers have DBS checks and safeguarding training.

Volunteer Trainees

Our volunteer traineeship programme gives handson experience and training to participants, putting them in a stronger position to gain paid employment in the conservation or ecology sectors. Over the course of a year our Wildlife Trainees assist the Land Management and Ecology Teams in carrying out habitat management and monitoring across our nature reserves. Trainees gain experience on a variety of habitats as they carry out surveys, practical conservation tasks, and maintenance of site infrastructure. They will lead volunteer groups and engage with the public by helping at events and guided walks. Wildlife Trainees receive an immersive experience and are important members of the team.

Stock watchers

Livestock play a big part in reserve management, and it would be impossible to monitor the welfare of these animals without a rota of volunteer stock checkers. Stock checkers visit their reserves in all weathers, 365 days a year, to check on the animals’ wellbeing and safety. It is a solo role which involves long walks and scrambles over often steep slopes.

Why I volunteer

Peter Philp is a member of the Parsonage Moor work party, volunteers with the HR team entering data, and monitors butterflies, dragonflies, and birds as part of the survey programme.

Guiding hand

Every aspect of BBOWT’s work is supported by volunteers, and this includes office-based jobs with the HR, planning and membership teams. Our Trustees also give their time for free and play a vital role in using their skills and experience to oversee the governance and strategic leadership of the organisation.

“I volunteer to give something back,” says Peter. “I get so much out of what the Wildlife Trusts do –nature reserves and conservation work. I love animals and nature, so I volunteer to help a cause which is dear to my heart. It’s nice to meet other people of similar interests too.”

COLIN WILLIAMS

DAVID OWEN

HELENA DOLBY

RO TURAN

“My 32 years of volunteering with BBOWT has always been a great pleasure, particularly as the staff and volunteers work together –there’s no us and them.”

Ken Thompson, College Lake volunteer

Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire

Under attack!

The Government’s new planning and ‘investment zones’ threaten a free-for-all attack on nature. We need you to help stop it, says Head of Planning, Policy and Advocacy Matthew Stanton

Aweek is a long time in politics but the 23rd September was a long day for our natural environment. The former Truss Government published its Growth Plan and the future for nature changed in the blink of an eye.

We had high hopes that we might be at a turning point. In the Government’s 2019 manifesto they vowed to lead the fight against climate change. With a pledge that we would be the first

generation to leave the environment in a better state, and a new Environment Act that could help restore nature, things were looking bright. But such hope is at risk of being extinguished.

Whilst the new Sunak Government has reinstated the ban on fracking and Investment Zones are ‘under review’, nature remains at risk, and we need to defend it.

The Growth Plan represents a colossal threat to our natural environment. Despite the change in Prime Minister, the Government still wants to reform the area that risks unlocking unsustainable development. There is a danger that the liberalisation of the planning system proposed in the Growth Plan will still go ahead, consultation requirements will be ‘streamlined’, and environmental assessments weakened. We can’t allow the Government to get rid of environmental protections and the rights of local people to have their say on development.

Such deregulation would reach its

pinnacle in new ‘Investment Zones’ where habitats could be destroyed, environmental protections stripped away, and development permitted regardless of its impact. The Levelling Up Secretary has said that Investment Zones are under review, but they should be completely abandoned.

Regulations around habitats and species are also at risk. This is not the first time the Government has attacked regulations protecting our most precious natural habitats and wild species. The only reason to reform the regulations would be to make it easier to develop on sites currently protected for nature.

The theme that runs through the Growth Plan is one that views the natural environment as a barrier to growth, rather than the very thing that underpins our existence.

Our area is under huge development pressure, and it is our respect for the natural environment that has helped keep unsustainable development in check. For example, we brought

TERRY WHITTAKER/2020VISION

14 Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire | Winter 2022

Careless development risks destroying rare and valuable habitats

Nature is in a precarious position and needs our help

Become a Wildlife Ambassador

For advice on lobbying your local representatives visit bbowt.org.uk/ campaigning-wildlife where you can also sign up to join our community of more than 600 Wildlife Ambassadors who take action for wildlife. You will receive updates about how you can get involved, tips on how to help wildlife, plus the latest campaigning news from BBOWT.

If you need more information, please email publicaffairs@ bbowt.org.uk

judicial review proceedings against the Government’s plans for the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway. The Government clearly holds a grudge as not only does the Growth Plan state that the Government ‘wants to accelerate road delivery through more streamlined consent processes’, it also states that the Government wants to change the Judicial Review system to avoid claims that cause ‘unnecessary’ delays.

It is not only the Growth Plan where the Truss Government showed disdain for environmental protections. In the Retained EU Law Bill, the Government will sweep away hundreds of laws that protect air, rivers, wildlife and food standards unless they are saved. Farming subsidies that would pay farmers for delivering environmental benefits are also under review. Both these threats continue despite the change in Government.

The new Government needs to make a clean break from the proposals in the Growth Plan, rethink its approach, and understand that for an economy to grow we also need trees, wildflowers, hedgerows and wildlife to grow – and we need to grow our understanding that without nature we have nothing.

We cannot allow this assault on nature to continue. We cannot allow the Government to go unchallenged. Get in touch with your MP and voice your fears. Shout about the need to protect nature. Find out how at bbowt.org.uk/ defend-nature

Ash dieback withers funds

The Trust is facing a bill of more than £1 million to tackle ash dieback disease. Sadly, we have had to make the drastic decision to remove thousands of ash trees from across our nature reserves in areas where falling dead branches pose a significant risk to the public, buildings, or road users – in line with Government guidance.

As the UK marks the tenth anniversary of the disease arriving in the country, we have launched a major fundraising appeal to help cover the cost. We rely on donations to keep on doing vital work to restore nature in a climate and biodiversity crisis, and the money needed to tackle ash dieback has put a huge, but unavoidable, dent in finances.

The disease is now present in more than three quarters of our reserves, requiring a massive operation to manage the effects of the disease to protect wildlife and people.

Senior Land Manager Mark Vallance explains: “This is one of the most heartbreaking projects we have ever undertaken. However, it is vital we ensure that everyone who visits our nature reserves continues to have safe access, and we have carried out all this work in the most sensitive way possible.”

Since 2019 we have spent £360,000 on specialist contractors, who have already safely removed thousands of trees. But the Trust is set to have paid out £1.2 million by the end of 2026, with ongoing work required beyond that to continue mitigating ash dieback.

To give to the urgent ash dieback appeal visit: bbowt.org.uk/ash-dieback-appeal

DEBBIE LEWIS

Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire | Winter 2022 15

Ash dieback at Warburg Nature Reserve

Introducing The Meles Circle

Enabling a step change in nature’s recovery

With nature and climate both at tipping points, never has it been more urgent to protect and restore our landscapes and the wildlife within. Since BBOWT’s inception, your support – through memberships, donations and gifts in wills – has been critical in helping it become the charity it is today. This loyalty will continue to be essential into the future.

When it comes to the sheer pace of the changing climate and perceptible decline in nature, we know time is not on our side. It is vital to increase the scale of our work across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. Our targets are bold: first, to achieve 30% of land managed well for nature in our three counties by 2030. Secondly, to build a movement of one in four people taking action for nature. Achieving these goals will help enable the natural world to recover sustainably.

Working together

In response to the scope and urgency of BBOWT’s ambitions, we launched our very first Philanthropy Circle on 1 September at the Oxford University

Museum of Natural History. Dining under the dinosaurs in the main court, we announced the creation of The Meles Circle, aptly taken from the Latin name for badger!

This new, innovative programme seeks to bring together high-level, regular supporters who care deeply about the nature crisis and who have the ability

Circle will be invited to up to three thought-provoking events to hear from renowned environmental speakers at the most inspiring locations.

Our next event will be held on 19 January at 2pm within the exclusive Spencer-Churchill Room at Blenheim Palace. A special New Year afternoon tea will be served, whilst our members

to help us solve the challenges we face and accelerate our impact. At its heart, our intention is to work closely with environmental philanthropists, reflecting your passions for the natural world, as well as supporting the key drivers of our work. Working together, we hope to achieve this through either annual donations of over £5,000 or through funding specific projects.

The Meles Circle programme

Each year, members of The Meles

and guests hear about our exciting new partnership work with the Palace’s Estates Team and learn more about why wildlife needs flourishing landscapes to survive.

If you would like to learn more about The Meles Circle, the work of our Philanthropy Department, or if you would be interested in attending our next event, please contact Laura Pepper on 07734 366851 or email laurapepper@bbowt.org.uk

“The decisions we make in this decade are the most important in human history.”

Sir David Attenborough, G7 Summit 2021

Winter Wildlife Gardening

Our gardens all but go to sleep in winter, but there are still ways to help your garden wildlife, says Kate Bradbury

Hedgehogs and amphibians may be tucked beneath a large pile of leaves or in your compost heap, while insects may be sheltering beneath tree bark, in the folds of spent leaves and seedheads, or amongst leaf litter. Avoid disturbing these habitats until mid-spring as any interruptions could cost valuable energy that isn’t easy to replenish at this time of year; insects may also be vulnerable to fungal diseases if exposed to damp conditions.

Indeed, the best thing you can do for most wildlife at this time of year is to not garden at all! Leave plants in borders

to rot down into themselves, avoid clearing leaf litter from your garden’s edges, and leave habitats such as log piles and compost heaps intact. If you have a meadow or other area of long grass, leave a ‘buffer zone’ uncut throughout winter, so caterpillars, beetles and other invertebrates can shelter in the thatch.

Of course, not all animals hibernate. Birds battle through the short days searching for food that’s often hard to come by. If you have fruit trees, let windfall fruit remain on the ground so thrushes such as redwings and fieldfares can help themselves. If the ground isn’t frozen, you can add to your collection of fruit and berrying trees and shrubs. Hawthorn, rowan, holly, apples, crab apples, and pyracantha all produce fruit loved by birds, while birches and

alder, along with plants such as Verbena bonariensis, lavender and teasels, offer valuable seeds.

Filling supplementary feeders benefits smaller species like tits, which need to feed almost constantly in the daylight hours. Calorie-rich food such as fat balls, sunflower hearts and peanuts gives them the energy to keep warm at night. Leave scraps of seed at the back of borders for ground-feeding species like wrens. And don’t forget water — not only do bird baths provide drinking water, but by regularly topping them up you will also help birds to clean their feathers and regulate their temperature.

Do make sure you keep bird baths and feeders clean, as the number and variety of birds visiting them can spread diseases. Regular cleaning can help keep your garden birds healthy.

Get more wildlife-friendly gardening tips at bbowt.org.uk/actions

BY HANNAH BAILEY

Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire

There’s a busy market for deadwood dwellings!

Chloë Edwards is director of nature recovery at Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust. Chloë is a deadwood enthusiast and loves marvelling at the life in the various deadwood features she’s nurtured in her garden.

ecaying trunks, rotting stumps, and fallen trees are all in hot demand. This prime real estate is home to a huge variety of wildlife. There’s a fantastic range of properties in our deadwood portfolio, from the high-rise to the sprawling single-storey. These habitats all play an important role in the nutrient cycle, help to lock up carbon, and even improve the stability of our soils. Interested in seeing the particulars? Then let’s go on a viewing and get to know the neighbourhood!

Family-friendly environment

Neighbourhoods rich in dead and decaying wood are home to incredibly diverse communities. Many of the residents are invertebrates and fungi that play an important role in breaking down wood. A lot of them are entirely dependent on dead or decaying wood for at least part of their life cycle — we call this saproxylic. Some of our most recognisable insects are saproxylic.

The larvae of the majestic stag beetle favour basement locations in underground deadwood, whilst black and yellow longhorn beetle larvae are long-term tenants of fallen branches, taking up to three years to leave their home as adults. Finding the ideal location for a young family is also high on the house-hunting agenda for the batman hoverfly. It seeks out rot holes in trees where wet, decaying wood makes an ideal nursery. Fungi that thrive in these locations range from the delicate stalks of candlesnuff fungus to the chunky chicken of the woods.

Location, location, location…

A third of all woodland birds nest in the hollows or cavities of dead trees. Great spotted woodpeckers drill their own holes, whilst nuthatches and tawny owls seek out existing gaps. Other birds of prey will use standing dead trees as a lookout post, or for somewhere to devour their prey.

Many of our bat species search for trees with lots of character (cavities, rot holes, fissures, and splits) in which to roost. Our biggest bat, the noctule, isn’t put off by a pre-loved home. They often favour old

woodpecker

They are not alone in the vertebrate community in finding deadwood attractive. Through the seasons, many amphibians and reptiles will be taken with the charm of a log pile. Its amenities include shelter, a lookout point, somewhere to bed down, a sun lounger, and so many opportunities for eating out right on the doorstep — deadwood has it all!

On the water

It’s not just land-lovers who appreciate deadwood. Fallen logs in rivers can provide the perfect refuge for fish and a whole host of aquatic invertebrates. They can also be a spraint spot for an otter, or a perch for a kingfisher. They even act as natural dams and can slow the flow of a river or stream, reducing erosion and holding water back in times of heavy rain, helping to make the landscape more resilient.

Your next move

With 13% of all plants and animals known in the UK directly dependent on deadwood habitats, it’s a vital component of our landscapes. We must respect it, protect it, and seek to create more of it! Make a garden more appealing by creating a log pile. If you have a tree stump in the garden, leave it for your new wild neighbours to move into. Pop out the welcome mat and wait to see who turns up to the housewarming!

For tips on making a deadwood dwelling visit wildlifetrusts.org/log-shelter

Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire

STAG BEETLE LARVAE © JANE BURTON, NATUREPL.COM; LOG PILE © SCOTT PETREK; FALLEN SCOTS PINE © MARK HAMBLIN/2020VISION; NUTHATCH © NEIL ALDRIDGE

holes. The rare and elusive barbastelle bat, found only in woods with plenty of standing deadwood, often takes advantage of spaces behind lifted, flaky bark plates.

ravens 6 places to see

avens are the largest members of the crow family, as big as a buzzard. They were once found across the UK, but persecution reduced them to small populations in the north and west. Fortunately, ravens have made an incredible comeback and can be seen more widely again, though they are still rarer in the east of England and Scotland. They’re often encountered in uplands and on coastal cliffs. You can tell a raven from a crow by its heavier bill, thicker neck, and hoarse, cronking call. In flight, they have a distinctively diamond-shaped tail. On winter evenings, ravens gather in communal roosts that can include hundreds of birds. These are often young ravens, as breeding pairs are busy holding their nesting territory. Look out for their tumbling, acrobatic display flights in late winter and early spring.

See the spectacle for yourself

1 Whitelee Moor, Northumberland

Wildlife Trust

Large numbers of ravens can be seen on this moorland nature reserve. The open skies are also great for spotting birds of prey like peregrine falcons and buzzards. You can sometimes find a herd of feral goats on the border with Kielderhead. Where: Byrness, NE19 1TZ

2 Howe Ridding Wood, Cumbria Wildlife Trust

This ancient woodland is home to a winter roost of ravens, with up to 30 of the cronking corvids often seen over the nature reserve. Other impressive birds you could spy include buzzards and sparrowhawks.

Where: Between Kendal and Grange over Sands, LA11 6SB

3 Blacka Moor, Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust

Ravens are a common sight on this spectacular stretch of moorland and woodland, part of the internationally important wild landscape of the Eastern Peak District Moors. As you search for ravens, keep an eye out for the more easily spotted red deer — the UK’s largest land mammal. Where: Near Sheffield, S11 7TY

4 Silent Valley, Gwent Wildlife Trust

An ancient woodland sanctuary in the South Wales Valleys. With panoramic views across the Ebbw Valley, there’s plenty of sky to scan for the distinctive silhouette of a raven. The nature reserve also boasts Britain’s highest beech wood! Where: Ebbw Vale, NP23 7RX

5 Cwm Colhuw, Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales

This mix of grassland, woodland, and scrub is a great place to see the ravens that live on the Glamorgan Heritage Coast. You might also spot a peregrine plunging after prey or a kestrel hovering over the grassland.

Where: Llantwit Major, CF61 1RF

6 Riverside Valley Park, Devon Wildlife Trust

You don’t have to travel to rural areas to see ravens! They’re a daily sight at this park close to the centre of Exeter. Here they perch on pylons rather than rugged cliffs.

Where: Exeter, EX2 6LT

Did you spot any corvids?

We’d love to know how your search went. Please tweet us your best photos! @wildlifetrusts

22 Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire | Winter 2022

Lisa Morgan

has studied Pembrokeshire’s grey seals for the past 20 years, including as warden of Ramsey and Grassholm Islands. She is now head of islands and living seas for the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales.

The first newborn seal pup I ever saw was on the small island of Skokholm, off the Pembrokeshire coast. Cared for by The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, Skokholm lies two miles south of her more famous big sister, Skomer, and is not known for seals. Its red sandstone coastline may look beautiful, but it’s exposed to the full force of the Atlantic Ocean. It can be an unforgiving place in an autumn storm. But through the drizzle and fog of that late afternoon in September, I was convinced there was something white on the beach below me.

I was soaked to the skin, having slithered to the cliff edge on my belly. My binoculars were steamed up and useless. But sure enough, there was movement on the pebbles below me. Then, the now unmistakable cry of a pup, weak but determined, pierced the howl of the wind in my ears. I ran back to the cottage to tell the wardens. I was full of wonder and hope for the new life, born into the full force of the Pembrokeshire weather. I remember that feeling of elation as if it were yesterday, though over 20 years have passed. Despite having seen hundreds of births since, I still get the same tingle of emotions for each and every one.

Grey seal pups are born in winter when our weather is at its harshest

Winter might seem a bad time to give birth in the wild but, as Lisa Morgan reveals, it’s prime pupping season for grey seals.

GREY SEAL PUP © DANNY GREEN/2020VISION

Why wait for cold weather?

Grey seals come ashore to give birth in autumn and winter, in a colony known as a rookery. The timing of the pupping season varies slightly around the UK. The Welsh rookeries are often the first to see pups, with the earliest arriving in August. There and in southwest England, the season peaks in September and is largely over by October. In eastern England and Scotland, the season starts a little later and can extend into January or February.

Autumn and winter are known for their severe weather, so it seems like a strange time to give birth. It can certainly be hard to watch pups struggling to survive big seas and winter storms, exposed to the elements at the most vulnerable stage of their life. As recently as 2017, west Wales was pummeled by a relentless run of

the females — called cows. Raising a pup is a big commitment in terms of energy. A cow seal will use up to 30,000 calories a day whilst suckling her single hungry pup. However, the real issue is that she has to do all of this whilst fasting! Females rarely stray far from their pup, so don’t get to feed and top up their energy reserves. As the pups get fatter, the mothers get thinner. In fact, they can lose over a third of their body weight.

This is a strategy called ‘capital breeding’. The cows rely on the energy that they collect and store before the breeding season starts. Summer brings calm conditions with plenty of prey, perfect for a seal to fatten up. By the end of the summer, the females are as fat and healthy as possible, so there’s no better time to raise a pup.

exceptionally powerful storms. Storm Brian and Storm Ophelia struck at the peak of pupping season for Welsh grey seals, with devastating results. On some beaches, 90% of the pups were lost.

So why are grey seal pups born during one of the stormiest and most unpredictable times of year? It’s all about the condition of the adults, especially

Growing, growing, gone!

Seal pups don’t spend long on land. Cows suckle their pup for an average of just 18 days. A healthy pup with an attentive mother should triple its birth weight in that time, gaining around two kilograms a day. They grow so quickly thanks to the rich, fatty milk of the cow seal — which is more like cream at an incredible 60% fat.

There aren’t many threats to young seals whilst they’re at their rookeries... but one thing they are vulnerable to is disturbance.

Bull seals will fight to control territories

Grey

When the cow decides she’s had enough and the pup is large enough, she abandons it and heads out to sea. The pup will remain in the rookery for a while, surviving on its fat reserves whilst it finishes moulting — pups are born with a fluffy white coat to keep them warm, but as they grow and build up a layer of insulating blubber, they shed their white fur for a darker coat. When hunger finally gets the best of it, the pup makes its way into the sea.

For a seal pup, feeding itself is all instinctive. It learns to find, catch, and eat food without any instruction or help from its mum. It’s a tough challenge, and not all pups survive this vulnerable time. The mortality rate of pups in their first year can be pretty high, depending on how bad the sea conditions are that winter. The pups that do make it through their first year could go on to live for 25 to 35 years.

It’s not just females that come ashore in autumn. Male seals, known as bulls, also haul themselves out at rookeries. They fight each other to hold territories, hoping to mate with the females within that territory. Females come into season 14 days after giving birth, so will still be suckling pups as males try to mate with them.

With bulls reaching two metres long and weighing over 230 kilograms,

battles can be brutal. They wrestle on the water’s edge, biting each other on the thick skin around the neck, often drawing blood. Eventually the loser will retreat, chased into the water. The biggest bull seals will be the most successful, holding the best rookeries and mating with the most cows. They are called beachmasters. They hold their territory for as long as they can (usually around two weeks) before returning to the sea to feed. As with the females, they are fasting during this time so also lose a lot of weight.

Seal safety

There aren’t many threats to young seals whilst they’re at their rookeries, beyond the dangers of stormy weather and the occasional bull fight getting out of hand. But one thing they are vulnerable to is disturbance. Where possible, seals prefer places far from people. In Wales they often use pebbly, cliff-backed beaches that can only be reached from the sea. In the northeast of England and eastern Scotland many seals haul themselves up onto low, flat, grassy islands just off the coast. But if inaccessible spots aren’t available, they will happily use more open areas. Some of the UK’s biggest grey seal rookeries are on beaches in the east of England.

Seal pregnancies last about nine months, but cow seals have the amazing ability to effectively pause their pregnancy. In a process called delayed implantation, the fertilized egg stops growing and doesn’t implant on the uterus wall. A few months later, once the cow has had time to recover from the efforts of suckling a pup, the embryo implants in the wall and starts growing again. Around nine months later, the cow is ready to give birth.

It’s important to give seals some space. Spooking them by getting too close on foot, on the water with kayaks or paddleboards, or in the air with drones, can cause females to stampede into the water, putting pups at risk. In some cases, it can even lead to pups being abandoned. The seal season is one of our greatest wildlife spectacles, but it’s one that’s best enjoyed from a respectful distance.

Discover some of The Wildlife Trusts’ top spots for seal watching at wildlifetrusts.org/seal-pups

“Despite having seen hundreds of births, I still get the same tingle of emotions for each one.”

MOULTED PUP © LISA MORGAN, PUP AND COW © THINESH THIRUGNANASAMPANTHAR, TWO PUPS © TOM HIBBERT