Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire - Summer 2022

Wild

Summer 2022

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire

River Roamers FRESHWATER WILDLIFE

Fish in the Thames get a boost

SUMMER LOVING

Fall in love with wildlife on a local nature reserve

WARMING WORRIES

Berkshire Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire

How climate change is affecting our seas

Wildlife Trust

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11/07/2022 09:46:20

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RIC MELLIS

The UK needs more space for nature, both to speed its recovery and for us humans to enjoy a greater physical and mental connection.

We have a bold ambition to achieve 30% of land well managed for wildlife by 2030. It’s doable, but we need everyone to pull in the same direction. Our plan is to stitch our beautiful landscapes back together to give wildlife more space, rebuild ecosystems and demonstrate how nature can help tackle the climate crisis. Creating space at this scale will put nature into recovery. We are working with all the Wildlife Trusts, as well as other conservation bodies to achieve this.

The transformation has begun. One approach is to acquire more land, and we have identified the best locations adjacent to existing nature reserves – the best way to expand natural systems. We are restoring land on our existing reserves too, while working with nearby landowners to build scale and resilience. Read about our work at Chimney Meadows on page 12.

Help is also on offer for private landowners to bring wildlife back to their land, to work with nature in farming systems and in housing developments. You can read more about our partnership with the Blenheim Estate, and our Reconnecting Bernwood, Otmoor and the Ray project on page 15. These are huge projects that bring benefits to both nature and people.

Our Landowner Advisory Service is on hand to help with all this, and for the local communities that we serve, Team Wilder is a great way to connect with nature (see page 9). Your support enables us to push forward with all these plans. And for those who may be interested we are launching a new philanthropy giving opportunity, the Meles Circle, this September. Big plans need everyone to come together!

Go with the flow Thames fish receive a major boost

BLENHEIM ESTATE

Wonderful waxcaps There’s another side to grasslands

JACK PERKS

Our bold ambition RIC MELLIS

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VAUGHN MATTHEWS

Welcome

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Working together Two new partnerships for wildlife

Estelle Bailey, Chief Executive

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust Get in touch 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 Warners Midlands Cover Alexander Mustard/2020VISION

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

Registered Charity Number 204330 Company Registered Number 006800007

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Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire | Summer 2022

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11/07/2022 09:55:20

KLAUS ECHLE/NATUREPL.COM

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

SUMMER SPECTACLE

Scratch and sniff The beloved badger, immediately recognised by its black and white striped head, is Britain’s biggest land predator. Powerful and weighing up to 12kg, badgers use their strong claws to scratch up the earthworms that form the bulk of their diet. They have a keen sense of smell and secrete odours to help them communicate and bond.

These nocturnal mammals live in groups of four to eight within a network of burrows and tunnels called a sett. Some setts are more than 100 years old, extended over generations into elaborate complexes with numerous entrances.

SEE THEM THIS SUMMER Moor Copse Believed to have inspired The Wind in the Willows. Perhaps Badger will shuffle by?

Warburg Nature Reserve Badgers are one of many mammals found in this magnificent reserve.

Little Linford Wood Look for ‘snuffle holes’ along the paths where badgers have dug for worms.

Thank you

Your membership supports our programme to vaccinate badgers against bovine TB – a humane and more effective alternative to the cruel cull.

Badgers emerge at dusk to begin feeding. To improve your chances of spotting one, sit downwind of an active entrance and wait as quietly as you can.

Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire | Summer 2022

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11/07/2022 09:55:55

YOUR WILD SUMMER

Did you know?

Other fungi often found alongside waxcaps include earthtongues, pinkgills, and club and coral fungi. These ‘waxcap grasslands’ are only seen on land that hasn’t been ploughed for many decades.

Soak it all in

Let the wonder of wildlife wow!

Wonderful waxcaps

country has a good number of them. Many appear in late summer, including the golden waxcap (it looks like it sounds) and the parrot waxcap, which varies in colour from green to yellow to blue.

SEE THEM THIS SUMMER Greenham and Crookham Commons The expanse of heath is a waxcap hotspot. Species found here include parrot, scarlet, snowy and cedarwood waxcaps.

Sydlings Copse Exceptionally rich in wildlife and a superb site for all types of fungi, from iconic fly agarics to boletes, as well as milkcaps, brittlegills and waxcaps.

Fungi come in just about every colour of the rainbow! See for yourself at bbowt.org.uk/rainbow-fungi

Heathland bursts into bloom in summer, putting on a jaw-dropping display while offering a haven to an astonishing range of insects, from grasshoppers and crickets to butterflies like the grayling. Here are the three types of heather you are likely to see.

Heather Also called ‘ling’, this common heather produces delicate pink flowers on wiry stems. Plants can live for 40 years or more.

ROSS HODDINOTT /2020VISION

Grassland and heath such as that found on our nature reserves bring to mind colourful wild flowers teaming with bugs and butterflies.

Yet many of these open spaces have a less wellknown but equally colourful side to their story – rousing displays of jewel-like fungi.

While many fungi thrive in shady woodlands, plenty more prefer a more open environment.

Chief among them are the waxcaps, a group of colourful mushrooms so named because of their typically waxy, shiny caps.

Waxcaps grow best on soils that are both well-drained and lower in nutrients.

Undisturbed soil with short-cropped turf containing lots of moss favour these fancy fungi. Waxcaps won’t grow on woody material, only soil.

There are some 50 species of waxcaps to look out for across the UK, and our part of the

Purple reign

CHRIS GOMERSALL /2020VISION

VAUGHAN MATTHEWS

Bell heather Its carpets of purple-pink, bell-shaped blooms bring summer heathland to life while providing a feast for nectar-loving bugs.

Cross-leaved heath Easily confused with bell heather, cross-leaved heath has larger flowers clustered to one side and whorls of four leaves along its stem.

ROSS HODDINOTT /2020VISION

Spider men You may notice more spiders in the home as we head into autumn. But why? Male spiders reach maturity around now and become more active as they hunt for a mate. Don’t be scared of them – spiders are harmless and efficient at pest control. See who is lodging with you at bbowt.org.uk/living-spiders

(DON’T!) CUT THIS

Don’t be too eager to cut back perennial plants at the end of the season. Leave the big tidy up till spring so invertebrates can overwinter among the old stems.

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SEE THIS

Marvel at nature’s firework display: those colourful autumn leaves. Frosty nights favour yellow leaves, while dryer weather promotes redder colours.

Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire | Summer 2022

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11/07/2022 09:56:03

WILD THOUGHTS

Dave Goulson @DaveGoulson

@dave.goulson

Silent Earth:

ILLUSTRATION: DAWN COOPER

Averting the Insect Apocalypse Since I was a child I have been obsessed with insects; they are amazing, often beautiful, and with fascinating, peculiar lives. I grew up in the countryside, and spent my childhood roaming the lanes and meadows in search of caterpillars, butterflies, grasshoppers and beetles. My bedroom filled with jam jars, cages and tanks housing all manner of small beasts. I eventually came to learn that the world would not function without these tiny creatures.

They pollinate; control pests; recycle all sorts of organic material from dung to corpses, tree trunks and leaves; they keep the soil healthy; disperse seeds; and provide food for many larger creatures such as birds, bats, lizards, amphibians and fish.

It should thus be of profound concern to all of us that insects appear to be undergoing massive declines. As a child, I vividly remember my parents having to stop the car on long summer journeys to scrub clear the windscreen, which quickly became crusted with splatted insects as we drove along. Today, our windscreens are disturbingly clean.

The causes of insect declines are many: habitat loss to intensive farming, housing and other developments; the ever-growing blizzard of pesticides used by farmers and gardeners; climate change; light pollution; impacts of invasive species and more. Our tidy, pesticide-infused world is largely hostile to insect life.

This may all seem terribly depressing, but do not despair. We may feel helpless in the face of many global environmental issues,

but as I explain in my book Silent Earth, we can all get involved in reversing insect declines. If you are lucky enough to have a garden, take some simple steps to invite insects and other wildlife in; it is astonishing how much life a small garden can support.

If you have no garden, you might consider joining national and local campaigns to fill our urban greenspaces with wildflowers, or to have your town or village declared pesticide-free. Imagine every garden, park, cemetery, roundabout and road verge filled with swathes of wildflowers. We could create a national network of wildlife-rich habitat from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

Of course we should not forget our farmland, which covers 70% of the UK. It is my view that the move towards ever-more intensive, pesticide-soaked monoculture farming is unsustainable; it has done terrible damage to our wildlife and soils, pollutes streams and rivers, and contributes a lot to greenhouse gas emissions. You can reduce your own impact and support more sustainable farming practices by buying and eating local, seasonal, organic produce, buying loose fruit and veg, and reducing your meat consumption. Better still, grow what food you can in your garden or an allotment.

Love them or loathe them, we all need insects. We have to learn to live in harmony with nature, seeing ourselves as part of it, not trying to rule and control it with an iron fist. Our survival depends upon it, as does that of the glorious array of life with which we share our planet.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

As we live through a time of great uncertainty, food security is an important issue. But it’s vital we consider nature in any plans. Industrial agriculture has destroyed wildlife on a grand scale.

Further intensification will be a huge blow for nature and climate, but also jeopardise long-term food security.

Learn more: wtru.st/energy-food

Dave Goulson is a professor of biology at the University of Sussex, one of the UK’s leading insect experts, and an ambassador for The Wildlife Trusts. He champions insects in his latest book, Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse.

Get more tips on how to help insects at wildlifetrusts.org/ action-for-insects

Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire | Summer 2022

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11/07/2022 09:59:43

Don’t miss out

WILD NEWS

Sign up to our e-newsletter at bbowt. org.uk/newsletter for all the latest news and updates.

All the latest local and national news from The Wildlife Trusts

Heads up

LEAVE A LEGACY

This year’s annual count of snake’shead fritillary flowers at Oxford’s Iffley Meadows came to 45,734, up from just 500 when BBOWT took over management of the site in 1983. The number is down slightly on recent years, but within the normal annual fluctuation expected.

Lovely jubilee!

GUY EDWARDES/2020VISION

This dedication is a fantastic way to celebrate amazing local wildlife and remind people what outstanding natural heritage we have and why it is worth protecting.”

Tucked away in the Chilterns just north of Henley, Warburg is a true treasure trove of wildlife, from weasels and stoats to rare butterflies like the purple hairstreak and threatened hazel dormice. Around 900 species of fungi are found here, and this is BBOWT’s richest site for orchids. Plan your visit at bbowt.org.uk/warburg

All the buzz

JIM ASHER

Nature for Everyone

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spaces a core test of levelling up.

Add your name and support our call for #NatureForEveryone at wildlifetrusts. org/nature-everyone

EVIE AND TOM PHOTOGRAPHY

Everyone should be able to grow up, and grow old, with nature. Yet one in three people in England do not have nature near their home, with little or no greenspace at all in some areas.

The Government promises to create equal opportunities and quality of life for everyone across the country through its Levelling Up agenda. BBOWT, along with other Wildlife Trusts, is one of more than 70 organisations joining together to ask the Government to secure a ‘right to nature’ as part of this, with access to nature-rich local

Pollinators in Crisis is a new book exploring the crisis and what can be done about it, with recommendations of 100 pollinator-friendly flowers. NatureBureau is offering 10% off this book and they will donate a further 25% to BBOWT. See enclosed flyer for more details.

More for Moor Copse

Dormice, bats, butterflies, dragonflies, and wildflowers will benefit from a project to create a pond and regenerate woodland and hedgerows at Moor Copse.

The £260,000 funding for the project has come from National Highways, as part of the new Network for Nature programme which aims to improve habitat impacted by road building.

ROSS HODDINOTT/2020VISION

Warburg Nature Reserve is among 70 ancient woodlands and 70 ancient trees chosen to honour the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The Queen’s Green Canopy project hopes to raise awareness of treasured habitats and the importance of conserving them for future generations.

“We are delighted Warburg has been chosen,” says Chief Executive Estelle Bailey. “Warburg is indeed one of the jewels in our crown, and a precious gem open to everyone to come and marvel at its treasures.

Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire | Summer 2022

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11/07/2022 10:00:10

UK HIGHLIGHTS UK UPDATE

Full marks for new school subject This April, the UK Government announced the introduction of a new GCSE in natural history. From 2025, secondary school students in England will have the opportunity to study the natural world, developing an in-depth knowledge of wildlife and wider ecosystems, as well as real-life experience of nature. The GCSE will teach transferable skills in observation, identification, classification and data gathering, and how to apply this knowledge to real world issues.

The announcement follows years of campaigning to make nature part of the curriculum, led by naturalist and writer Mary Colwell.

Providing young people with the knowledge to protect the planet is

essential for the future of the natural world, as is inspiring a connection to nature. The new natural history GCSE is a great first step, but this journey needs to start sooner and involve all pupils in the UK, regardless of the subjects they study.

We want to see children given opportunities to spend at least an hour a day learning outside, and for nature and climate education to be embedded across all subjects and at all levels.

This message has been championed by thousands of young people through the Our Bright Future programme, who want greater opportunities to learn in, and about, nature.

Read our full response to the new GCSE at wtru.st/new-GCSE

Discover how The Wildlife Trusts are helping wildlife across the UK

Raptor real estate A pair of peregrine falcons have nested for the first time on St Albans Cathedral, thanks to a nesting tray provided by the Wilder St Albans project — a collaboration between Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust and St Albans City and District Council. The St Albans pair is one of only five pairs breeding in Hertfordshire. wtru.st/st-albans-nest

Hope for hazel dormice

Working for wildlife

Wild About Gardens, an annual joint initiative between The Wildlife Trusts and the Royal Horticultural Society, is setting its sights sky-high as we go wild about our high-flying birds. This year, the focus is on swifts, swallows and martins — summer visitors that have suffered some serious declines.

Scuttled cuttle

KATE TITFORD

Find out more at wildaboutgardens.org.uk

A rare pink cuttlefish was found on a Cornish beach, following late winter storms. This small species is more commonly seen in the Mediterranean, with only sporadic records from southern Britain. The discovery was made by Cornwall Wildlife Trust volunteers and recorded in the Trust’s Marine Strandings Network. wtru.st/pink-cuttlefish

Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire | Summer 2022

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SWIFT © NICK UPTON; PINK CUTTLEFISH © LUCY LUCK, CORNWALL WILDLIFE TRUST

Sky-high ambitions

The Vale Brewery joins us as our newest Investor in Wildlife member, while a big thanks go to Berkshire Botanical, Chroma Printing, LS Fire Solutions & Eco Extinguishers Ltd, NatureBureau, and QuickMoveNow for renewing their memberships.

Thanks too to staff from Ipsen Biopharm for working to create a new outdoor classroom at Sutton Courtenay Environmental Education Centre, which is now in use as a teaching space for children and adults to connect with nature.

Surrey Wildlife Trust has trained more than 100 volunteers to help hedgerows flourish across Surrey’s North Downs, giving hope to the iconic hazel dormice.

Even small gaps in a hedgerow can be a barrier to dormice, isolating populations.

The new volunteer task force is surveying, laying and planting hedgerows to help dormice populations expand. wtru.st/dormice-hope

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11/07/2022 10:00:16

EVENTS DIARY

WHAT’S ON

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

ALAN GARNSWORTHY

TOP PICK

Photography Competition 2022 The BBOWT Photography Competition is still open, so get out there and get snapping! Enter one of six categories: flora and fauna, nature reserve landscapes, Team Wilder, people in nature, children, and teens. Photos must be taken on a BBOWT nature reserve, except for the Team Wilder category, which can be taken anywhere.

The overall winner will receive a Panasonic LUMIX 30x Optical Zoom Camera, while all winners will receive a workshop with wildlife photographer Steve Gozdz from GG Wildlife Experiences, a printed canvas of their photo, and their photo featured in the 2023 BBOWT calendar!

The closing date is 8 September. For all the details visit bbowt.org.uk/photocomp22

Family favourites n Awesome August Family Sessions take place at the Nature Discovery Centre (Berks) with the theme of Meadow Marvels (Tues 9 Aug) or Sensational Senses (Tues 30 Aug). n Wild Storytelling. Enjoy outdoor tales at Sutton Courtenay Environmental Education Centre (Oxon) and join in the story making yourself! Thurs 25 Aug. n Family Team Wilder ‘Bird Buffet’ at College Lake (Bucks). Spot birds on the reserve, find out what they eat and listen to feathery tales. Weds 10 & Thurs 11 Aug.

JON HAWKINS SURREY HILLS

PHOTOGRAPHY

n Family Pond Dipping Workshops.

Discover the creatures hiding below the surface at Sutton Courtenay.

Tues 23 Aug.

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n Family Team Wilder ‘Bugs Life’ at College Lake. Meet the small creatures who live on the reserve and listen to magical tales. Weds 3 & Thurs 4 Aug. n Explore a nature trail at our education and visitor centres. Summer Trail runs at College Lake (Mon 1-Sun 14 Aug). There’s a search for The Lost Words at the Nature Discovery Centre (Tues 2-Thurs 4 Aug).

While Sutton Courtenay is going Mad about Minibeasts (Mon 8-Thurs 11 Aug).

Young naturalists n Teddy Bears’ Picnic. Bring your teddy for an adventure in the woods! At Woolley Firs (Weds 3 & Weds 10 Aug), Sutton Courtenay (Tues 16-Thurs 18 Aug), and the Nature Discovery Centre (Thurs 25 Aug). n Nature Explorer’s Day Camp at Windsor Great Park. Fully supervised by trained staff, no need for parental supervision.

For ages 8-12. Tues 2 & Thurs 4 Aug. n Our Green Planet Day Camp at Woolley Firs (Berks). A full day of fun activities, supervised by trained staff, no need for parental supervision. For ages 7-12. Weds 24 & Fri 26 Aug.

For teens n Working in Wildlife Conservation.

This three-day course for 15-17-yearolds is run by the knowledgeable staff at Sutton Courtenay. Try your hand at practical conservation tasks, wildlife ID and surveying, creating marketing and engagement materials and more while meeting other wildlife enthusiasts.

Tues 2-Thurs 4 Aug. n Awesome August – Daring Detectives Teen Session. Explore the life (and death) of wildlife in ways that will have your brain buzzing! Nature Discovery Centre.

Tues 16 Aug. n Rangers Sessions. Learn from experienced education officers, gain wildlife skills, and meet others interested in nature. Young Rangers and Teen Rangers run at the Nature Discovery Centre (both Sat 6 Aug & Sat 3 Sep). Or log on for the Online Rangers (Tues 16 Aug, Tues 20 Sept).

Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire | Summer 2022

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11/07/2022 10:02:18

PEOPLE & WILDLIFE

Working together Team Wilder’s Lily O’Neill shares details of a new project to bring people together and create more nature everywhere

Sounds great! How will it work?

There are already many groups doing amazing work for wildlife. The network will enable them to share their stories and knowledge, inspiring like-minded groups across our three counties as we all work towards more nature everywhere.

The platform will allow anyone interested in joining a community group to see the groups in their area. It will provide handy resources and information packs – from wildlife gardening tips to advice on fundraising, and much more!

And it will facilitate conversations and community group collaborations. By sharing experiences, we can maximise the impact of our local actions and create a network of wilder spaces, tipping the scale back in nature’s favour, and fostering a community-minded approach to the climate crisis.

What are the next steps?

We are planning to get community groups together to start sharing those experiences and learning from others on a more regular basis. We’ll soon promote these opportunities to continue the great work we started when #teamWILDER launched last autumn.

BBOWT is to receive £90,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to connect disadvantaged communities with nature.

Nextdoor Nature will give people the skills, tools, and opportunity to take action for nature. This could include establishing wild habitats and green corridors in areas of economic and nature deprivation, rewilding school grounds, or naturalising highly urbanised or unused areas.

The grant will help us work with communities in Reading and Slough, with an emphasis on young people and groups at risk from poor wellbeing, for example those who are isolated or living with poor mental health. Nature connection in these groups can have a significantly positive impact.

Liz Shearer, Community

TERSTOCK

Nextdoor Nature

RAWPIXEL.COM/SHUT

What’s the project all about then Lily?

As part of the #teamWILDER launch we asked how BBOWT can best help communities take action for nature.

A community networking hub was suggested, and this forms the basis of my role as Volunteering Network Officer.

The goal is to build an online platform to connect groups across the region, inspire individuals to engage with nature, and help create a wilder world on our doorstep.

Engagement Director, explains: “We know people want to improve their neighbourhoods but it’s often hard to know where to start. Nextdoor Nature will let communities set their own agenda on the environmental issues they want to tackle, and we’ll be looking at different ways to bring people together and give them the support, skills and confidence to take the next step.”

#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

Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire | Summer 2022

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11/07/2022 10:04:51

GO EXPLORE THIS SUMMER JOHN MORRIS

You did it!

Our nature reserves are incredibly special places that wouldn’t exist without the ongoing support of members like you. Thank you!

Yoseden

Experience the best of nature

COLLIN WILLIAMS

There’s nowhere better on a sunny summer day than one of our glorious nature reserves, and with 86 to choose from you’re spoilt for choice!

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Yoesden

Postcode HP14 4AR Great for… Chalk grassland and butterflies Best time to visit Summer Size 16.5 hectares Map ref SU 788 984 Yoesden is a prime example of people power. When we launched an appeal to buy this incredible site back in 2014 it took just four weeks to reach our target.

Visit in summer and it’s obvious why Yoesden struck a chord with so many.

This sun-kissed chalk grassland slope is genuinely special. Untouched by either the plough, fertilisers or intensive grazing, this pristine fragment of land hosts some of the rarest wild flowers, making it one of the finest butterfly sites in the county.

By late summer the many orchids are finished for the year, replaced by pops of mauve from the Chiltern gentians and the violet pompoms of devil’s-bit scabious. Butterflies still on the wing include the three ‘blues’: chalkhill blue, small blue and, here at its northernmost site, the Adonis blue.

Adonis blues have drastically declined across the country as grassland is lost, but here they find all they need: warmth in the southwest-facing aspect, grass kept short by the poor, chalky soil and grazing sheep, and an abundance of horseshoe vetch, its caterpillar foodplant.

The males are the real stunners thanks to their brilliant sky-blue wings, while at this time of year the chocolatebrown females are busy laying a second generation of eggs.

Ancient ‘beech hanger’ woodland crowns the top of the slope. Whitebeam, yew, oak, wych elm and ash join the beech trees to support a range of woodland plants, with both common favourites like wood anemone and dog-violets, and scarcer beauties like the bird’s-nest orchid scattered about the woodland floor. In the 19th century local bodgers would have harvested these woods for material to make chair legs and spindles for the local furniture trade. The peaceful scene they would have gazed upon remains much the same today – a joyous vestige of past times and a hopeful beacon for a wildlife-rich future.

Wild Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire | Summer 2022

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11/07/2022 10:05:37

GO EXPLORE THIS SUMMER

BANBURY MILTON KEYNES BUCKINGHAM

Love being out in nature?

Volunteer with BBOWT and enjoy plenty of fresh air and gentle exercise –all while helping wildlife!

Current volunteering opportunities include positions on regular work parties to carry out practical conservation work, stock watchers, and botanical surveying of rural road verges. For details of these and other opportunities please visit bbowt.org.uk/volunteer

BICESTER

AYLESBURY WITNEY THAME

OXFORD

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ABINGDON

CHESHAM AMERSHAM

DIDCOT

Find out more about all our nature reserves at bbowt.org.uk/reserves

BEACONSFIELD

SLOUGH WINDSOR READING THATCHAM

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BRACKNELL

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

NEWBURY

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Dry Sandford Pit

If you get a buzz from bees, you’ll love Dry Sandford Pit. Quarrying here in the 1950s exposed layers of honeycoloured limestone and sand – the remnants of marine creatures from the Jurassic

era when Oxfordshire basked under tropical seas. Today this is home to a range of solitary bees and wasps, including swarms of ivy bees which can be found at the base of the cliffs in early autumn making the most of their flowering namesake. Look out for the wide yellow umbels of wild carrot too, which host numerous hoverflies and the exceptionally rare clubbed general soldierfly.

JIM ASHER

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Postcode RG7 4JB Great for… Tranquil heathland Best time to visit Spring and summer Size 28 hectares Map ref SU 619 648 Heathland dazzles in August as it reaches full bloom. The heath on this common is set among an intimate backdrop of gnarled ancient oaks, pine trees, grassland, and ponds.

Alder-lined gullies fringe its edges and there are wetter areas with carpets of moss.

The usual heathland birds are found here, including Dartford warblers, woodlarks and, belting out its long vibrato song at dusk, the nightjar. Stop to scan the heather for insects like the

well-camouflaged greyling or the emerald glint of a green tiger beetle, or listen out for the soft, shrill buzz of bog bush-crickets in the wet areas.

JON HAWKINS SURREY HILLS PHOTOGRAPHY

Postcode OX13 6JW Great for… Fenland and cliffs of rare insects Best time to visit All year round Size 8 hectares Map ref SU 467 997

Padworth Common

11/07/2022 10:05:39

CONSERVATION IN ACTION

Go with the flow Old Father Thames has been given a new lease of life thanks to a new channel created at our Chimney Meadows nature reserve. The stretch of water will help wildlife reach parts of the river inaccessible for more than a century

C

himney Meadows near Bampton is an ancient landscape offering a glimpse of how much of the River Thames might have looked many years ago. Once a commercial farm, the wildflower meadows were restored to their former glory following BBOWT’s purchase of the site in 2003. Less than 20 years on and it’s time for the next stage of Chimney’s journey – and it couldn’t be more exciting!

Work started in December 2019 to dig out a new channel of the river and restore long-lost wildlife habitat. The 450m watercourse bypasses Shifford Weir so that fish can reach a 30km stretch of the river to spawn there for the first time in more than a century.

Just months since its completion, the channel is already attracting fish, birds, and mammals.

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Wetland restored Working with the Environment Agency (EA), we have also created shallow temporary pools called ‘scrapes’ near the channel. These have helped to re-establish a naturally functioning floodplain habitat, once common across the country but lost as rivers were straightened, land drained and connection with the floodplain broken.

The wetland here can now store floodwater for longer, helping to better protect homes and land downstream from flooding (an issue likely to worsen with climate change). We know this wetland can be part of the solution to the climate crisis and we have partnered with Bangor University and the EA to undertake research that demonstrates how effective active floodplains can be at storing carbon.

“This project is an absolutely amazing

achievement for restoring vital habitats for wildlife to move freely while tackling climate change,” says Chief Executive Estelle Bailey. “Our mission as a Trust is to put nature into recovery: we want to see 30 per cent of land in our three counties properly managed for wildlife by 2030, and this is a golden piece of that wild jigsaw puzzle.”

The two-year project was funded by a £2 million Water Environment Grant from the EU’s European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). The project was managed by environmental consultancy JCTR, designed by environmental engineering consultancy Atkins, and the main contractor on site was Hampshirebased FiveRivers, who delivered all the environmental, wetland and improvement works.

Let the fish pass Shifford Weir was built in the 1890s, when a new ‘short cut’ channel was dug to connect two parts of the Thames and enable easier transport of wool from the Cotswolds. The weir helps with navigability and flood risk management but blocks the movement of fish. It’s one reason why river environments in the area have been classified as ecologically

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You can read more about this incredible project at bbowt. org.uk/chimneywetland-restoration

FIVE RIVERS

poor in recent years.

The new channel, combined with a new rock pool fish pass at Duxford Ford, will allow fish to pass some of the last remaining barriers on the Upper Thames. Fish will now be able to freely swim around the Duxford Loop of the river, even during low water levels, to access some 30km of the river between Eynsham and Radcot, including 2.1km of potentially good spawning habitat.

Crucially, this will help populations of native species including barbel, chub and dace to be far more resilient to environmental change such as hotter,

ANDY ROUSE/2020VISIO

The new channel soon after completion

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CONSERVATION IN ACTION

drier summers, and to pollution events.

The new scrapes around the channel will help local curlew, an iconic wading bird in national decline.

The curlew is an indicator of the wider health of the wetland, but they need wet pools to feed on aquatic insects and longer grass Otters are already using in which to nest and hide the channel from predators, both of which have been restored.

Baffles have been fitted at Great Brook “I have worked with many people Ford to direct the water to flow over over the years and the development just one half of the submerged concrete of Chimney Meadows could not have structure during low flow conditions. happened without them,” explains Lisa.

This will slightly increase the depth of “Lizzie Rhymes at the Environment the water, helping fish to swim through Agency has been a great support in on their way upstream. New native wet particular since we first discussed woodland has been planted around helping fish over or around the various Duxford Ford, comprising hundreds of barriers in the river back in 2010! I can’t willow, alder, birch, and hawthorn trees. wait to show people what we have achieved.”

Work was completed last December Seeing it through but the channel was only partially The entire project was overseen by opened at the time. Now the vegetation Living Landscape Manager for the Upper

“The task now is to monitor the numbers of fish and other wildlife to prove the project’s success. ” Thames Lisa Lane, despite the fact she was diagnosed with breast cancer halfway through the work. Lisa, who last year won the Marsh Charitable Trust Leadership Award for her work, started planning the project in 2018 and, despite beginning treatment, continues to oversee the project.

Free pass: chub

JACK PERKS

has grown up, it is fully open and passable for fish. The task now is to monitor the numbers of fish and other wildlife to prove the project’s success.

We haven’t had to wait for long! Already green sandpiper, lapwing and curlew are feeding along the channel, while wildfowl such as teal and wigeon have made use of the new scrapes. Water vole prints and otter droppings at the entrance of the new channel are the icing on the cake!

“It’s hard to overstate the importance of this project,” adds Estelle. “Not only is it an outstanding example of how humans can take huge steps to restore our natural environment and help endangered species, it is also a beacon of hope in the fight against climate change.”

The hope is that what has been achieved at Chimney will inspire similar schemes across our region and beyond.

We need more nature everywhere, and this corner of the Thames has just become a whole lot wilder.

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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

River wildlife is often out of sight and out of mind but spend a while watching a still section of water and you could catch a glimpse of a whole school of fish. Here are five fantastic freshwater fish to look out for

Name: Chub Size: Up to 60cm Name: Pike Size: Up to 150cm The fins on this fearsome fish are set far back on the body, perfect for a sudden burst of speed as they dash towards their prey – like a torpedo with teeth. Pike prefer to lurk among underwater plants, darting out to ambush other fish, frogs, small mammals and even birds.

This thick-set fish inspired the word chubby, possibly aided by its eclectic appetite. They’re known to eat anything from plant debris and invertebrates to smaller fish and frogs. The large mouth is a key identification feature! Chub need flowing water to breed.

UNDERWATER LAKE © GRAHAM EATON NATUREPL.COM. ILLUSTRATIONS BY KATY FROST

Name: Perch Size: Up to 60cm This green-tinged fish has the dark stripes of a tiger and an appetite to match. They’re piscivorous predators that regularly feast on other fish, as well as invertebrates. Smaller perch are often found in schools close to the bank. They are one of our most widespread fish.

Name: Brown trout Size: Usually up to 80cm This adaptable fish can be found in waters across the UK. Some brown trout live their whole life in freshwater, while others known as ‘sea trout’ spawn in freshwater but migrate to the sea to grow. They eat a varied diet, including insects, crustaceans, and small fish.

Name: Roach Size: Up to 50cm The silvery, red-eyed roach can be found in almost any waterway, often forming large shoals. To tell it apart from the similar looking rudd, look at the dorsal fin on its back: in the roach, this is level with the pelvic fin below the body; the rudd’s dorsal fin is further back.

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30 BY 30

Working together Our vision for 30% of land well managed for wildlife by 2030 demands a bold approach through partnering with others – like these two projects Blenheim’s greener vision

habitats, the team will work with Blenheim and its partners, including farm managers Velcourt, Rowse Honey, Thames Water and Oxford University, to produce a masterplan for nature’s recovery on the Blenheim North site.

It is hoped that the new vision will secure a more sustainable future for the Estate, maximising all that this historic landscape has to offer for nature, people, and climate.

Ambitious recovery plan

A vast nature recovery plan to protect, improve and expand land for wildlife is being developed across a huge area between Buckingham, Bicester, Aylesbury, and Oxford. The area contains some of the best-preserved natural environment in southern England, with ancient woodland and rare floodplain meadows.

Threats to the environment such as housing will be identified, farmers and landowners given help to manage land for nature, and wildlife hotspots such as Bernwood Forest, the River Ray and the Otmoor basin will be joined up as never before. The Reconnecting Bernwood, Otmoor and the Ray project will be managed by BBOWT with funding from Buckinghamshire Council.

Prue Addison, Conservation Strategy Director explains: “It isn’t enough to

BLENHEIM ESTATE

BBOWT will help the Blenheim Estate secure a more sustainable future

The Otmoor Basin is ho me

to snipe

protect species on isolated nature reserves: we need to ensure species can move between sites so populations can thrive. This project will help us to build a giant jigsaw puzzle of nature sites across two counties, creating more nature everywhere.”

The area in question covers more than 300km2 and is home to our Bernwood Forest and Ray Valley Living Landscape.

It includes the Upper Ray Meadows, a refuge for locally-scarce wading birds such as lapwing and curlew, and the Otmoor Basin, an important site for species like snipe (pictured), bittern, crane, and marsh harrier.

Some of the measures that could help include landscape-scale work to buffer, expand and reconnect existing wildlife sites; acquiring more land for wildlife; and working with local farmers. A new team has been established to support the project and produce a Nature Recovery Plan outlining the opportunities.

Funding will then be sought to bring initiatives forward.

Find out more about our partnership with Blenheim Estate at bbowt.org.uk/Blenheim-partnership Or for more on Reconnecting Bernwood, Otmoor and the Ray visit bbowt.org.uk/ reconnecting-Bernwood-Otmoor-Ray

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BBOWT is partnering with the Blenheim Estate to protect and restore wildlife and habitat across 2,000 acres of the Estate.

Central to plans are new nature-friendly farming techniques, to improve soil health and biodiversity. The BBOWTled team is also looking to provide new environmental education opportunities and improve accessibility. Other options to be explored include using Biodiversity Net Gain schemes to invest in improving the landscape for wildlife, and using nature-based solutions, such as flood plains to alleviate flooding issues.

The project aims to reconnect fragmented wild habitats, such as hedgerows and woodland. These will provide vital green corridors, giving wildlife the best chance of surviving and thriving across the Estate and beyond.

Blenheim Estate has already pledged to be carbon neutral by 2027. The Estate boasts the greatest number of ancient oak trees anywhere in Europe and is planting more than 270,000 trees to create nine new woodlands. A separate partnership with Rowse Honey will establish more than 50 acres of habitat for pollinators, including the Estate’s rare wild honeybees.

Following an extensive survey to map and record existing species and

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LEAVE A LEGACY

Where there’s a Will Head of Philanthropy Laura Pepper shares her admiration for the forerunners of conservation and explains how you too can help protect wildlife for generations to come through a gift in your Will

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very day we see the effects of a changing climate, of environmental destruction and species loss.

It’s easy to despair or feel overwhelmed at the size of the challenge that lies ahead in restoring our natural world.

I am lucky. Working for BBOWT, I am surrounded by experts who care deeply about wildlife and have dedicated their lives to conservation. Yet charities like ours haven’t always been around to care for the natural world. I often find myself thinking of those forerunners of conservation; those naturalists, experts, and amateurs who, over the past century and even earlier, had the foresight to recognise that wild spaces were worth saving.

The 60-year story of BBOWT has been shaped by similarly extraordinary people, and what a legacy of more than 80 nature reserves they have helped create! We can track the growth of the Trust’s land ownership through their generosity.

Amazing people like Vera Paul – a remarkable lady who has left an incredible legacy.

Born in 1913 in Oxfordshire, Vera developed an early love of nature, discovering the elusive ghost orchid at just 18. She studied botany at the University of Reading and went on to become one of the founding members of BBONT, later BBOWT.

In 1962, Vera was devastated to hear that the woodlands at Warburg could be lost on the open market. So, she led a local campaign to raise the £25,000 required to buy the land by searching through the local phone book and ringing anyone with references to nature in their house name!

Amazingly, Warburg was saved and Vera went on to compile a list of more than 400 species of plant, animal and fungus found within what became the Warburg Nature Reserve. Her dedication earned her an OBE in recognition of her services to the natural world. When she died in 2001, she left a significant gift to BBOWT in her Will, which helps us look after the site to this day.

Having that foresight to save and protect special parts of our landscape amid an ever-changing world will always inspire me.

This year, we are launching BBOWT’s first Legacy Society, which seeks to say ‘thank you’ to all those supporters who have also pledged to help save local wildlife in their Will.

Find out more If you would like more information about leaving a gift to BBOWT in your Will please get in touch with me, Laura Pepper on 01865 775476 or by email at laurapepper@bbowt.org.uk You can also find out more by going online at bbowt.org.uk/legacy

RIC MELLIS

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SHIFTING SEAS

Shifting Seas

ALEXANDER MUSTARD/2020VISION

Bex Lynam, marine advocacy officer for the North Sea Wildlife Trusts, explores the effects of the climate crisis on our underwater wildlife

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SHIFTING SEAS

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his spring, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its sixth assessment report, and it makes for deeply uncomfortable reading. The report, authored by the world’s leading climate change scientists, outlines the damage being done to the planet from our continued release of greenhouse gases, as well as the action needed to slow down the rate of change.

The impacts of a rapidly changing climate are not only felt on land (where we see droughts, wildfires, and flooding after heavy rainfall) but in the ocean too, as our seas heat up, rise and become more acidic. Globally, across both land and sea we’re witnessing increases in the frequency and intensity of climate and weather extremes. Coral bleaching is widespread and glaciers are retreating, changing the waters around them.

Closer to home we know that UK seas are getting warmer. The biggest changes in sea surface temperature have been recorded in the North Sea and north of Scotland. Since 2000, eight of the 10 warmest years on record have occurred.

At the same time, UK sea levels have risen by an average of 12-16cm since 1900.

This may sound like a small increase, but even seemingly small rises cause more erosion on the coast and increase the chances of flooding. The chemistry of our seas has also shifted; according to the Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership, the North Atlantic Ocean contains more anthropogenic CO2 than any other, causing it to become more acidic. So what does all this change mean for our marine wildlife?

become more favourable for them.

Several kelp species (a type of brown seaweed) have declined because of warming sea temperatures. This has a knock-on effect on other wildlife, as so many animals rely on the kelp as a food source, hunting ground or shelter against predators. Many marine mammals, like the white-beaked dolphin, require cooler waters to live in. It’s estimated around 80% of the European population of white-beaked dolphin is found in the UK,

part of the cause. In some cases, these timing shifts can lead to repercussions felt across the food web. One worrying example is the sandeel, a small, silvery fish that plays a big role in the UK’s seas. It’s an important prey item for many animals. Seabirds like Arctic terns, puffins and kittiwakes rely heavily on sandeels to feed themselves and their chicks. Warming seas have led to a mismatch between the timing of sandeels’ spawning and the time when

“It’s estimated around 80% of the European population of white-beaked dolphin is found in the UK” yet as our waters warm their range is getting smaller and they’re being pushed out of areas previously suitable for them.

Whereas warm water fish species like northern hake, largely absent in UK waters for over 50 years, are increasing in number, cold water species like cod will move north. This will have consequences for our seas, but also for UK fisheries and the availability of cod in our local fish and chip shops!

Seas out of sync Ocean warming also affects the timing of animal lifecycles. There’s evidence that grey seals are giving birth earlier in the year, and that climatic changes are

zooplankton, their favourite food, is available. As a result, sandeels have declined (exacerbated by overfishing), which in turn has been linked to declines in UK seabird numbers.

Temperature isn’t the only aspect of our seas that’s shifting. Climatedriven changes in ocean chemistry have reduced the amount of carbonate available in sea water. This matters because carbonate is an important building block of the shells of many marine creatures, including crabs and lobsters. These shelled species are eaten by a variety of different animals, including us! Any impacts on their numbers could quickly affect the wildlife

White-beaked dolphins thrive in UK seas, but that could change as waters warm.

New neighbours Nature is constantly changing, so the effects of climate change can be difficult to discern. However, scientists are in agreement on some of the common effects seen across the world’s seas.

One of the most obvious trends is that wildlife is on the move. Long-term evidence shows shifts in the distribution of not only wildlife, but habitats too. As the seas around the UK warm, species that prefer cooler water are shifting northwards to seek a more suitable temperature. At the same time, some species from warmer waters to the south are moving into our seas, as conditions

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KEITH HISCOCK

SHIFTING SEAS

Some kelp species are in decline, threatening the wildlife that relies on them.

that relies on them, as well as many key fisheries across the UK. The rise in sea level will impact coastal habitats like saltmarshes and sand dunes, as deeper water and bigger waves can reach them, increasing erosion. As these places are damaged and potentially even lost, we also lose the valuable services they provide such as capturing and storing carbon, or protecting coastal communities from flooding and erosion. Habitats like saltmarsh also have an important role to play for our wildlife, providing food for breeding and wintering wading birds and wildfowl, and acting as nursery sites for many fish and invertebrates.

Ocean optimism Ultimately, we need to work hard to drastically reduce our carbon emissions.

But whilst we do that, there are ways to help our seas cope in the meantime.

The key step is to reduce the pressure from other human activities. This means ensuring we are fishing sustainably, making sure development is carried out in a sensitive way that minimises impacts on wildlife, significantly reducing marine pollution and noise in our oceans, and managing invasive species.

At The Wildlife Trusts we have been campaigning for the establishment and protection of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for decades. Well managed MPAs

are a tried and tested tool for making space for nature. By restricting damaging activities, they can allow wildlife populations to rebuild and flourish.

These healthy populations are better prepared to face other threats, like those introduced by climate change. While the UK has established a network of MPAs in its waters, we believe more are needed and with greater levels of protection (in the form of Highly Protected Marine Areas) to ensure we safeguard wildlife for the future.

Alongside the designation and proper management of MPAs, we’re championing the use of nature-based solutions to combat climate change.

This means protecting the habitats and wildlife that provide us with ecosystem services, like the saltmarshes and seagrass meadows that prevent flooding and take in carbon. The Wildlife Trusts lead many restoration projects around the UK, bringing these habitats back to areas of our coast where they have been lost. Using both of these tools together, we hope to tackle the dual climate and biodiversity crises we face, before it’s too late.

We can turn the tide if we all take action now!

Species Spotlight

The ringneck blenny, also known as the variable blenny, is a small fish that thrives in the warm coastal waters of the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic. There were no UK records of this species until 2007, but in recent years it has become increasingly common along the southern coasts of Cornwall and Devon. Ringneck blennies live around rocky shores, reefs and maerl beds — a seaweed that forms hard skeletons, a bit like a coral reef.

Find out more about how you can help protect our seas at wtru.st/ marine-mailing

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Summer

Wildlife Gardening The garden in summer is busy, as froglets and toadlets leave the pond for the first time, fledgling birds beg for food, and the whole garden buzzes with life.

In the sky, swallows, house martins and swifts gather insects to feed their young, and at night bats take their place, foraging among the treetops or swooping low over ponds.

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If you haven’t already, leave an area of grass to grow long, particularly around your pond. Long grass provides the perfect shelter for young amphibians and food for the caterpillars of several butterflies, including the ringlet, meadow brown and speckled wood. Here, you’ll also find beetles and bugs, plentiful prey for a variety

Kate Bradbury is passionate about wildlifefriendly gardening and the author of Wildlife Gardening for Everyone and Everything in association with The Wildlife Trusts.

of species further up the food chain, like hedgehogs. Later in the season, the grasses will seed and you may spot house sparrows stripping them for food. Avoid strimming your grass at all if you can, but if you must, be sure to check for hedgehogs and other wildlife first!

Being more tolerant of naturally occurring plants is also important in a wildlife garden. Anything from dandelions to nettles, dock and chickweed, provide food and shelter for a wide range of species. Let them flourish!

Or at least leave a few around the edges.

It’s also a good time to do an audit of flowering plants in your garden. Fill gaps with flowering annuals such as cosmos

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ILLUSTRATION BY HANNAH BAILEY, PHOTO © SARAH CUTTLE

and borage, which are magnets for bees and other pollinators. Towards the end of summer, add Verbena bonariensis, rudbeckias and echinaceas for insects still on the wing. You can also sow foxgloves and other biennials now, which will flower next year.

If conditions are dry, it’s a good idea to water insect foodplants so they don’t shrivel up, and ensure flowers continue to bear nectar. Use water from your water butt if you have one, and grey water from baths and washing up bowls if you don’t — avoid using tap water as this is a precious resource. Leaving a dish of mud can help house martins fix and build their nests, and providing water — in a pond, bird bath or other container — will ensure foxes and hedgehogs have something to drink, while

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birds can bathe and clean their feathers.

Take advantage of fine weather to construct that log pile you’ve been meaning to build, or start a large, open compost heap where wild things can live.

There are always improvements to make in our gardens, and summer is a fine time to do them. What can you add?

Get more wildlife-friendly gardening tips at wildlifetrusts.org/gardening

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STOAT © RICHARD STEEL/2020VISION

6 places to see

stoats & weasels Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust | Summer 2022

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he UK might not have lions and tigers, but there are still carnivores roaming our countryside. The mustelids are a fearsome family of mighty mammals, with seven species scattered across the UK. There are badgers, otters, pine martens, polecats, non-native American minks, and of course, stoats and weasels. These pugnacious little predators often punch above their weight, tackling prey much larger than themselves.

Stoats and weasels look similar, with short legs and long bodies covered in white and brown fur.

Whilst stoats are larger and stockier than weasels, the best way to tell them apart is to look at the tail. A stoat’s tail is long and ends in a bushy black tip, but a weasel’s tail is short and entirely brown. A useful clue as it dashes away from you and darts into cover!

See the spectacle

for yourself

1 Straidkilly, Ulster Wildlife Despite its small size, this secluded hazel woodland is a wonderful refuge for mammals. You could spot a red squirrel, Irish hare, badger, pygmy shrew, pine marten or an Irish stoat — a distinctive subspecies. You won’t spot a weasel though, as they’re not found in Ireland.

Where: Carnlough, BT44 0LQ 2

Willington Wetlands, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust This former gravel quarry is now a haven for wildlife in the Trent valley. If you’re lucky, you could spot a stoat or weasel scampering across a path. You might even spy one of the recently released beavers that now call Willington home!

Where: Burton upon Trent, DE65 6YB 3 Brook Vessons, Shropshire Wildlife Trust This atmospheric nature reserve, dotted with ancient trees, is criss-crossed with rock piles; remnants of old dry stone walls and small holdings. They provide the perfect hunting ground for stoats and weasels, stalking mice and voles through the cracks and crevices.

Where: Snailbeach, SY5 0SJ Whisby Nature Reserve, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust Whisby’s lakes are surrounded by grassland, scrub and willow carr, providing plenty of places for stoats and weasels to stalk their prey. After your walk, you can hunt down some food of your own in the Boardwalk Bistro.

Where: Lincoln, LN6 9BW 4

5 Brandon Marsh, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust The mosaic of scenic pools, reedbeds, grassland and woodland creates a home for a wealth of wildlife. As well as stoats and weasels, you could also spot an otter.

Where: Coventry, CV3 3GW Great Fen, The Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs & Northants The mixed landscape of the Great Fen harbours plenty of small mammals for mustelids to prey on, and lots of nooks, crannies and holes in which they can shelter. It’s a pintsized predator’s paradise!

Where: Near Huntingdon, PE26 2RS 6

Did you spot any mustelids?

We’d love to know how your search went.

Please tweet us your best photos! @wildlifetrusts

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Berkshire Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust

#wildaboutgardens

wildaboutgardens.org.uk

Wild about

high fliers Welcoming swifts, swallows and martins

No stranger to a long-haul flight, swifts, swallows and martins travel all the way from Africa to spend summer in the UK. But these high fliers are in trouble. Swifts and house martins were recently added to the UK’s Red List, meaning they are seriously threatened, have suffered severe declines, and require urgent action.

There are lots of things you can do to help,

from encouraging the insects they eat to building a swift box. Find out how else to support these special birds through this year’s Wild About Gardens campaign.

Download your FREE guide and get started at wildaboutgardens.org.uk

GETTY IMAGES/STOCKPHOTO

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