OXFORD WILDLIFE NUMBER 100 NEWS WINTER 2013

A winter visitor – the Redwing A redwing seen at Goosey, near Stanford in the Vale by Barry Hudson

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OUWG newsletter: Number 100 See centre pages (6 and 7) for how it was launched

NEWS FROM BOUNDARY BROOK NATURE PARK The recent work at Boundary Brook has mainly been the general routine trimming of some of the summer vegetation growth. This involves clearance of some paths where brambles etc. have encroached and trimming hedges.

A new resident? One interesting new visitor was seen recently. Alan heard a rustling noise in the hedge and when he got nearer he saw it was a black squirrel. It travelled along until it spotted Alan but soon after it disappeared. It seemed larger than our normal grey squirrels. Apparently they crop up sometimes as a result of a dominant mutation in the offspring of the common grey squirrels which are native to North America. About 100 grey squirrels were introduced into Britain in the 1870s as exotic pets. Then as you know their rapid spread resulted in the decline and eventual disappearance of most of our native red squirrels. In the 1880s about a dozen black squirrels escaped from a private zoo in Woburn, Bedfordshire. They are spreading out and are again starting to outcompete the grey squirrels in places.

Let us know if you spot any around the city.

EVENTS Past . . .

Wolvercote Apple Day It was a lovely sunny autumn day and a massive number of people flocked to the Community Orchard in Wolvercote. The car parks were full and queues formed to taste the various types of apple, then collect a basket to gather the apples of their choice as well as a few other fruit. They then had to queue to pay. There were various competitions and tables of delicious cakes, jams and juices. We entertained passing children (and a few cautious adults) with our feely boxes. We sold Jo Aldhouse’s wonderful varieties of home-made jams and chutneys, as well as a few books and seeds and handed out leaflets and newsletters. In between we sat and ‘sun-bathed’. Autumn Open Day A moderate number of visitors braved it to our open day but the fact that a violent storm was forecast probably deterred a lot of people from setting out. The pond level was still very low so rather than risk children falling in, as they stooped low enough to “fish” we again had an aquarium and small nets so they did mini-pond dipping with great enthusiasm.

‘Ants, ant intelligence and ant-hills’ Our November talk on Ants was given by Tim King and he told us about some most fascinating discoveries about ants, their behaviour and their intelligence, their anthills, especially relating to his research on Oxfordshire ants, in particular the yellow meadow ants of Aston Rowant. Ants can communicate most efficiently, mainly by many glands secreting a variety of chemicals. They have a range of duties in the ant-hill and can adapt what they do to respond to current needs. There are "farmers" milking aphids, "agriculturists" growing fungi for food, "foragers" going out to collect food such as seeds, "engineers" constructing rafts, bridges and shelters, "nursemaids" caring for the young and "emergency services" rescuing captured colleagues. The complex community has one or more queens who are literally the mother of their subjects.

Christmas event A small group of us watched a slide show of the early days of OUWG, showing our early walks, activities with our Watch Group in 1989, visits from Ormerod School and later the Woodcraft Folk, the Litter Blitz at the Trap Grounds in April 1991, the launch of Boundary Brook Nature Park in June 1990 showing the creation of the various habitats. We accompanied it with Christmas Punch and a variety of foods that we brought.

Future In January 2014, Rod d’Ayala, who led us on a very interesting walk through the C.S. Lewis Reserve recently, is coming to give us a talk about Amphibians, especially the newts, frogs and toads you may get in your garden ponds and how to attract them and nurture them. As our normal lecture theatre at Science Oxford Live in St Clements is now closed we are

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going to use the Town Hall again as it proved very suitable for our last talk by Tim King and it is central and on bus routes. Rooms are also free for use by charities two days a week.

In February we are having another winter walk through central Oxford to see some urban wildlife even in winter-time. Although we have had similar walks in the past they are always well-attended and they attract people we don’t normally see.

The Oxfordshire Recorders and Conservation Conference is on March 1st and is taking place in the Museum of Natural History this year. Local environmental groups meet and give brief reports and exchange information about their progress and activities. Details are on page 10 under ‘Events for other organisations’ .

We are going to have a stall in Bonn Square for the launch of the  Oxfordshire Science Festival on March 9th. This is also a well-attended event attracting passers by in this busy central square. There are many stalls with activities for children and interesting information for adults. We will have a stall with books, puzzles for children, seeds and leaflets about OUWG so do drop by.

We are holding our usual Spring Open Day at Boundary Brook Nature Park towards the end of March when we hope for good weather. With luck the pond will be full enough by then to allow pond-dipping in the pond rather than in an aquarium.

To give you notice in advance on April 5th the 2014 Oxfordshire Goes Wild will be back in the Oxford Natural History Museum now its renovation work is finished. This is again always a great attraction and we will have a stall with activities for children.

So get your diaries out and see back cover for details of all these events.

'Will you Walk into my Parlour?' said a Spider to a .................... 'If you wish to live and thrive, let the spider run alive' is a proverb that I learnt as a boy and, despite working and thriving in tropical countries where black widows menacingly lurk, I am keen to live and let live with fellow creatures that have not shown me any particular animosity.

Recently I noticed a beautiful web outside my bedroom window and admired the artistry of its resident owner. It looked rather lonely, no doubt resting from a night-time excursion, so when I came across a spider in the kitchen-

sink, I decided to introduce it gently to my bedroom neighbour rather than wash it down the plug-hole. Roused from its afternoon siesta by an insolent interloper, it raced across the web in fury. A fight ensued and, after a short boxing-match, the trespasser withdrew on its silken ladder, evidently uninjured. As some female spiders devour the male after nuptials, I think that in future I will let the spider run alive and refrain from introductions that might lead to fisticuffs or worse. David Newell

A strange sight (November 4th 2013) I saw something today in the garden which I have never seen before; and the friend who was with me had only seen it once before. She found, and then handed to me, a beige coloured slug about ¾ in. long with a worm about 6 inches long protruding from its mouth. She tried to pull the worm, which was still wriggling, out of its mouth, but was unsuccessful.

She said that she had seen this just once before and on that occasion she had been able to pull the worm out. It

didn’t seem alive and was by then about 1 foot long and very thin.

Last year I found one of the newly arrived Spanish slugs – this one had crawled up the inside of my green wheelie bin – so we were almost eyeball to eyeball. I just shut the lid down. I had heard that these slugs arrived in the bags of freshly prepared salads and then made a bid for freedom. I’m lucky in that I hardly ever have a slug in this garden.

Delia Twamley  

A Mysterious Hole.

Some creature has dug out a neat hole in my lawn. It is about 5 inches across and as deep. I filled it with soil and by the next day it was dug out again. It looked a bit like a badger latrine but no sign of any droppings anywhere. Whenever it was filled with soil it was soon dug out again so I covered it with a pane of glass and left it for

several weeks. No other holes were dug until I took the glass away when it was soon cleaned out again. Although I live in a built-up area of Cowley I have had a badger digging up the lawn for grubs in the past but not like this. I am intrigued to know what animal could be doing this.

Mary Spiller

Wildlife Gardens at Children’s Centres In 2010, The Northmoor Trust (soon to be re-named The Earth Trust) organised a lottery-funded project with the aim of enabling children to connect to the natural world both in their locality, by making wildlife gardens at children’s centres, and further afield, by taking them out into the countryside. Once the wildlife gardens had been made Trust staff would visit the centres to involve children in nature-based activities. My part in this, as a self-employed gardener, was to make the gardens at Florence Park and Rose Hill Children’s Centres, under the helpful supervision of Phil Pritchard who works for the Trust.

I love making wildlife gardens, so this was an enjoyable project once the initial formalities were over and I could get cracking. As with the making or renovation of any garden it started with measuring up, making site surveys, concept planning, master-planning, costings and, as soon as all parties were happy with the proposals, pitching the spade into clay and builders’ debris on a cold, wet December morning.

At Florence Park Children’s Centre, where the ground slopes away from the paving around the building, making the wildlife garden began with cutting border areas into the existing coarse turf, while at Rose Hill it involved re-configuring a more level area by lifting paving slabs to make room for planting. There was more space at FP, although they had outdoor play equipment and a separate contractor working for part of the time, I was there to install a play ship and the garden already had a more bucolic, less urban, feel because of the grassy sloping terrain, some fairly mature trees and the wider setting of Florence Park.

Herb Garden at Florence Park Children’s Centre

I had decided to make curving, informal borders along some of the more open boundaries and at intervals around the edge of the paving surrounding the centre. There was a sharp corner to this where the ground plunged away steeply, making it awkward to step off the paving, and making the area below unusable and therefore ready to be turned to advantage with fennel, lavender, hyssop and all sorts of bee and butterfly friendly vegetation. Digging uncompromising clay in the middle of winter is really not so bad if your thoughts are buzzing ahead like bees in cow parsley. At one end of the garden was a quiet, little used space in which I made a three-quarter circle of scaffolding plank benches, corners

blunted and painted a soothing sage-green grey, surrounded by hazels to feel like a grove, and under-planted with primroses and wild daffodils. The sunnier end of the garden was the best place for raspberries, a couple of plum trees and a wildflower corner-border dominated by teasels, and I also got to make several hazel wigwams to support runner beans, which the children were to plant later, and a spiral-spined brick herb garden stocked with herbs, nasturtiums and calendulas.

At Rose Hill I started by lifting a double row of paving slabs to make a wide, fence and fruit tree backed new border, with the effect of enclosing the garden and separating it from the constant flow of people entering and leaving the building. This makes the garden feel more secluded and allowed much more space for plants.

Planter made of scaffolding planks

The railing boundaries on three sides were partially screened with willow screening from the local DIY store, and I planted hawthorn and field rose to make an informal hedge and soften the effect of so many straight vertical lines. Alongside the front wall of the centre I assembled a long planter with scaffolding planks in which to grow bulbs and wildflowers, which is also suitable for planting carrots. A contact of Phil’s, Chris, came in to construct a lovely undulating willow and hazel fence, with some kind of play apertures, and to make a dome of the same stuff to cover an existing chestnut post enclosure containing some strange, rubbery toadstools for seating little people.

There are raised beds in which grow annual and perennial wildflowers and vegetables, and a damp spot which has become less so as all sorts of less welcome plants have infiltrated. The centrepiece at Rose Hill is the mound; originally just grassed, but over which, inspired by a mountain path I once saw in the Brecon Beacons, I made a path of paving slab pieces, sunk into the ground so only the edges are seen at the surface and the spaces between are filled with a scree of shingle embedded in clay. The rest is planted with masses of sea thrift, thyme, sage and lavender. It would be nice to do something like this on a larger scale, a huge mound with a flint path spiralling up, to host the kinds of butterfly friendly plants which dislike wet, low-

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lying Oxford clays. If Monty Don were to make one on Gardener’s World perhaps they would spring up all over the country and greatly enhance the survival chances of once common butterfly species which are dwindling at an alarming rate.

Quite as important as the wildlife-friendly planting was making space for children to grow food. I don’t know how much of this was done later but I planted some starter vegetables before leaving in March 2011 and both sites were well stocked with berrying bushes and fruit trees.

I didn’t have the pleasures of watching children as they lifted the logs on the woodpiles, noticed the flowers or tasted the first fruits, but I had the dreaming, the spade work, the planting and the knowledge that where there had been tidy but rather dispiriting places imbued with an ambience of institutional aridity there would be much life-enhancing green growth and, in spring and summer, a great hum of insects. Really, we need to make wildlife gardens everywhere in our cities, and not just for the children.

Susan Heeks

Hibernation Places By reading these wildlife gardening articles on an ongoing basis I hope you are all beginning to realise that wildlife gardening isn’t about “Doing Nothing”, a popular misconception. It’s about managing a garden sympathetically.

It doesn’t have to be untidy and often wildlife gardening isn’t that far removed from traditional gardening. It’s as much about breaking age-old habitats of us gardeners, as it is about considering the wildlife.

It’s a very simple point I want to focus on in this article, and that’s hibernation areas. If you follow my advice, year on year, each spring and summer you will increase the species diversity in your garden. Don’t though, tidy everything away when autumn and winter arrives.

In one swoop you could destroy much of what’s been achieved. If you attract life into your garden, maintain hibernation areas, otherwise much of what you have attracted will be destroyed with little hope of returning the following year in some cases.

Take a look and your borders, full of perennial plants. By all means, cut them down when flowering is finished (leaving one or two seed heads as a food source), but leave at least 6 inches of stem. These stems, as they dry out and become hollow, are great hidey-holes for many little beasties. Leaving the stems also protects the crowns of your prized plants against the cold winter and also reminds you where they are. Then in spring, when all the little beasties have emerged, cut the remaining stems down to the ground.

So you see, wildlife gardening and traditional gardening are quite close friends.

Happy Gardening

Stuart Mabbutt (Wildlife Gardening Specialist 01865 747243)

This is The Real Poppy Campaigns website where people can purchase the seeds http://realpoppy.co.uk/#/shop/4567325002 To access Stuart's YouTube Channel, simply type in Stuart Mabbutt YouTube or http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQjFKXfBq2PAXll7mLetJA to go straight into the channel. You can also hear Stuart's radio broadcasts if you go to: https://soundcloud.com/stuartmabbutt

You can find further tips on how to improve your garden for wildlife from BBOWT’s blog http://www.bbowt.org.uk/blog/bbowtblog/2013/10/29/wild-about-gardens

• Put out food for the birds in your garden, and you'll be rewarded with several different species. Find out what to feed garden birds or buy your bird food from Vine House Farm to support your local Trust.

• Dig a pond to help wildlife in your garden. It doesn't have to be large - a small pond can be made from an old sink or even a bucket! Find out how to create a garden pond.

• Piles of wood and leaves provide hibernation places for frogs, toads, hedgehogs and even slow-worms. Find out how to create homes for wildlife.

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The first Urban Wildlife Newsletter - Autumn 1988 Newsletter reminiscences From Nigel Dobbyn who illustrated and compiled our first newsletters:

“How computers have changed our lives. I remember the early days of the OUWG newsletter as being a combination of Letraset titles (I used to enjoy trawling through the drawers of Letraset in the Brush and Compass in Broad Street), hand-drawn illustrations and text typed up on an Amstrad PCW9512. It came with a meagre 512 kilobytes of memory, but it did have the advantage of a daisywheel printer, with interchangeable wheels to print out in different fonts (as many as four I think!). You couldn't desktop publish the text though - it had to be printed out, cut up and everything stuck together with glue. Not very sophisticated, but the results looked OK.

I'm still quite fond of a few of the early illustrations I did for the newsletter - a kingfisher cover and pine cones amongst others. I still produce wildlife illustrations

occasionally, but nowadays I 'ink' everything digitally using a graphics tablet - no more spilled bottles of ink or blackened fingers!

It was hard work at times (why on earth did we expand to eight pages from the original four?), but we had a lot of fun and I learnt a lot from helping to produce it. It's wonderful to see the newsletter still being produced to this day thanks to all the hard work and dedication that continues to be put into it.” Nigel Dobbyn Sue Antrobus remembers:

“I recall the excitement of sending out the first newsletters. This involved a group of us sitting on the floor ( I think of Pat Mansfield's living room) stuffing envelopes, except we were reusing envelopes that the committee had saved, which seemed to be all different shapes and sizes, and needed relabelling, but it was always a good evening of informal urban wildlife talk and ....lots of tea. Postage has gone up a lot since then!” Sue Antrobus

The first Urban Wildlife Newsletter The first newsletter was published in September 1988. It was 4 sides and was launched by Sue Antrobus, who our first Co-ordinator and newsletter editor. Nigel Dobbyn, who was a professional illustrator and cartoonist, did wonderful illustrations, many of which we still use on our leaflets and cards. Newsletters then expanded to 8 sides and eventually to the present 12 sides. Gradually as technology improved so the setting up became easier. When Sue and Nigel left the area in 1992, I then took over the editorship. Members still supply most of the articles and photos. Janet Keene

The very first article on the first page of text of the first issue was by Sue Antrobus. She wrote:

“Welcome to the first issue of “Oxford Wildlife News”, the quarterly newsletter of the Oxford Urban Wildlife Group. This issue includes a close-up on Holywell Cemetery, notes on wildlife gardening and much more! We would welcome your letters, views and news on wildlife in Oxford – please send them in.

Since the group’s official launch back in May we have enjoyed a hectic summer, surveying the wild areas of Oxford, organizing walks and collecting hedgehog leaflets, but we are not hibernating for autumn. If you have some spare time on your hands, why not join our publicity team?

They are presently busily putting together

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display material to advertise the OUWG. Or helped with the City Botanical Survey, which during the winter months will be sorting through the valuable information collected throughout the summer. Sites will be mapped and new sites identified for survey in the spring.

After a successful summer, we look forward to the continued expansion of our activities.

SUE ANTROBU S

Because of Nigel’s wonderful drawings we didn’t use photos until the mid 1990s. By then more advanced technology made it easier as well.

Other articles included:-

The first of many articles by Pat Mansfield on wildlife gardening, this one was on “Butterfly Gardening”, Urban foxes by Richard van Gucci and Diary Dates including ones for Rural Action Team, walks led by the City Rangers near Shotover and Port Meadow, BTCV tree-felling training course and later their hedge-laying course. An OUWG walk through the beautiful “Hospital Gardens” at the Churchill Hospital was listed. Pat Hartridge had the idea for wildlife gardens in hospitals when she spent two weeks in two separate rooms in the John Warin isolation ward of the Churchill Hospital in 1984. One room overlooked a concrete yard and the other a shrubbery visited daily by a robin. The pleasure provided by watching the robin led to the idea that gardens attracting birds, bees and butterflies would be beneficial to patients, nurses and visitors. Gardens were built around five wards but only two still remain following the extensive building which has taken place since then on the Churchill site.

Winter Visitors Now that winter is upon us visiting northern birds, many from Scandinavian countries and being mainly berry and fruit eating, will be hungrily stripping any cotoneasters and apples that remain in our gardens and orchards, also utilised will be the hawthorns surrounding our allotments and uncultivated areas by fFieldfare and Redwing often referred to as the winter thrushes.

Swelled by numbers from foreign parts our more common species like Robin, Great and Blue Tit, along with the Finch family, will be reliant on the generosity we show when we distribute seed and fat on our bird tables, with agricultural intensification our kindly actions are increasingly important as a lifeline in the struggle against falling temperatures, shorter daylight hours and miserably wet weather.

Fieldfare

Winter can give the observant urban watcher a few nice surprises with a chance of sightings of the very beautiful Waxwing and Stonechat, the former will most likely be found feeding wherever the rowan tree is whilst the latter is best sought in those uncultivated sites previously mentioned.

. Stonechat If you are a bird table feeder and I sincerely hope you are please do not forget to supply our feathered friends with clean drinking and preening water, your reward will be in the movement and beauty that our winter birds bring to your patch.

Barry Hudson. (Secretary Oxford Ornithological Society)

The Cat and the Squirrel On September 23rd this year I found my Burmese cat in the front garden – which is out of bounds – at 7.00a.m. I persuaded him to go into the back garden. A few

minutes later I saw him crossing the road from the late Freemasons’ grounds holding onto a squirrel by the neck and dragging it – this caused him some trouble as the

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squirrel was long and the cat seemed to stumble over it – rather as a woman would be with too long a dress. It had been an instant clean kill.

I returned to the house to shut the door from the kitchen into the house and found he had negotiated both a hole in the back gate (8½ in. x 6in.) which had been cut for a previous cat, and also now used by hedgehogs, and then through the cat flap (7in. x 6in.), and this must have

caused him some trouble as the flap has to be held up to enter, into the utility room where he was trying to get some response from it to make it worthwhile playing with it. He soon abandoned this because of its unresponsiveness. On returning to the front garden I heard the alarm call of the squirrels opposite, but they did not keep it up for more than about 10 minutes; in fact they didn’t seem to miss their offspring or sibling that much!

Delia Twamley

Another squirrel Barely a month after Nimrod, my middle-aged Cream Burmese cat, came in with a squirrel he had just killed, he came through the cat flap with the usual crash, and this time, I saw him as I was in the utility room near the cat flap. He came in with another squirrel in his mouth. This he was carrying by holding it across his shoulders and it must have hit its head against the metal frame of the cat flap. It appeared to be concussed because when he dropped it, it lay flat on his back with its pupils dilated and seemingly shattered.

I gazed at it with horror. But Nimrod was not daunted and poked it and succeeded in rousing it. It darted from the kitchen (I had shut the door into the house as is my wont in such cases) and took refuge in the corner of the utility room behind the door and adjacent to a cupboard. Nimrod was motionless about a foot away. I assumed after an hour or so that it must be dead and was going to

move it – but I did wonder if it was really dead as Nimrod was still cautiously watching it.

I discussed the matter with a neighbour and decided to ask a builder two doors away for help. He came immediately and coped admirably with the situation. He picked up the cat, talking soothingly and confidently (although a cat owner he said he lacked experience in such a situation) and walked away for a few steps. The back door was open and so was the door from the conservatory into the kitchen. The squirrel roused itself, climbed up a curtain, fell with a crash onto the floor and then rushed into the garden. The builder told me to shut both doors and I locked the cat flap temporarily. Nimrod was relieved that it was over and his honour was intact and that he had not been called upon to dispatch the squirrel. And that was that.

Delia Twamley

Proposed Solar Farm near Tackley could create haven for wildlife, whilst generating enough clean electricity locally for 2,146 homes

There is a proposal to build Wootton Baulk Solar Farm, close to Tackley and they have plans to enhance the biodiversity of the environment. This will be focussed on the boundaries and buffer zones around the edge of the site especially aimed at birds but also invertebrates and reptiles.

Agricultural use will continue by having sheep grazing around and the panels which will be raised at least 700mm from the ground, allowing the sheep to graze around and take shelter underneath the rows of panels.

Independent ecologists will produce a Biodiversity Management Plan to ensure the farm makes a meaningful contribution to biodiversity. The results of the Ecological Assessment show that there positive impact on the environment for local birds, reptiles, hazel dormouse and invertebrates.

We are proposing to create grasslands and/or wildflower seeding, which fall in line with Natural England Guidance and to enhance the prospects for wildlife habitats in the area by installing bird nest boxes and bat boxes around the site.

We are still finalising our plans and expect to submit a planning application in the next few weeks. Once it has been submitted, full details will be available on the council website.

One reason that we think solar farms are able to create such havens for biodiversity is that unlike other farming structures, such as greenhouses or polytunnels, solar arrays are arranged with wide spaces between the rows in order to prevent the panels from shading each other. So, as a result, around 70% of a solar farm remains open grassland. They also require very little maintenance once constructed, meaning that local wildlife and plant species are largely left undisturbed.

Anna Billington (Lightsource).

Brown hare at Wilburton Solar Farm Cambridgeshire

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EVENTS FOR OTHER ORGANISATIONS (For contacts see page 11 unless otherwise listed)

JANUARY Friday 3: The Jack and the Beanstalk Science Show: 11am and 2pm Fee-fi-fo-fum! We’re going on a Jack and the Beanstalk science adventure! There’ll be flashes, bangs and exciting experiments in this interactive family science show, as we explore the science behind one of our favourite fairy tales. Suitable for ages 5-11. Cost £5 per person / £16 group (up to 5 people) / RSC Members Free. West Oxford Community Centre, Botley Road, Oxford. Presented by Dr Sarah Bearchell and Science Oxford Live. Book on http://www.scienceoxford.com/live/ or call 01865 810 000. Please note online bookings cannot be made after 9am on the day of the event, instead please phone. (SOL)

Thursday 9: The Okavango Delta an illustrated talk - on the world's largest inland river delta by their President, John Wyatt. The annual flooding of the Okavango in Botswana produces endless landscapes of swamps, waterways and palm-tree islands over some 10,000 square miles which in turn support enormous numbers of animals and birds. Time: 7.45pm Sandhills School, Terrett Avenue, Oxford OX3 8FN. Free to local group members. Visitors welcome, £3 on the door. Contact Tel: 07813782514. E-mail: lindaeneal@aol.com (RSPB)

Tuesday 14: The Unfeathered Bird a talk by Katrina Van Grouw 7.45pm. Stratfield Brake Sports Ground Kidlington. Members free, non-members donation. Details: Barry Hudson 01993 852028. (OOS)

Saturday 18: Hedgelaying at Wells Farm, nr Little Milton. OX44 7PP Hedgelaying is a centuries old traditional craft, helping to rejuvenate ageing hedges by encouraging new growth and improving its structure and strength. 10am-4pm. Join local expert, Clive Leeke to learn about its origins and improve your skills in this valuable conservation technique. Booking Essential. Volunteers free, £30 all others. Contact: volunteering@bbowt.org.uk or tel 01865 775476. (BBOWT)

Sunday 19: Slimbridge WWT, Gloucestershire. Coach leaves Headington Hill Hall at 8.30am. This superb site overlooking saltmarshes of the Severn estuary is famous for its hundreds of Bewick swans, thousands of wild geese, good numbers of waders and the several raptor species that prey on them. Large visitor centre with restaurant and gift shop. An entry fee required for non WWT members. Price: About £20 depending on the numbers attending. Booking essential. Tel: 01865 723868. E-mail: anne@anclark.force9.co.uk (RSPB)

Sunday 26: Fleet Pond, Hants Field Outing: contact Steven Alley 01608 659628 (OOS) FEBRUARY Tuesday 4: Warburg Memorial Lecture 2014. Speaker to be confirmed. St Antony's College, 62 Woodstock Road. Admission: Donations invited. 7.45pm. Contact Zaira Puddephatt 01865 775476. Email: info@bbowt.org.uk (ANHSO and BBOWT)

Thursday 6: The RSPB's Natural Secrets an illustrated talk by Peter Holden looking at many of the other forms of wildlife that can be found on and around the RSPB reserves which have amazing biodiversity, some being common while others are rare and depend on the RSPB for their future. 7.45pm. Sandhills School, Terrett Avenue, Oxford OX3 8FN. Free to local group members. Visitors welcome, £3 on the door. Contact Tel: 07813782514. E-mail: lindaeneal@aol.com (RSPB)

Wednesday 12: "It's a bat’s life" a talk by David Endacott 7.45pm. Stratfield Brake Sports Ground Kidlington. Members free, non-members donation. Details: Barry Hudson 01993 852028. (OOS)

Sunday 16: Blashford Lakes, Dorset and The New Forest. Coach leaves Headington Hill Hall at 8am. Blashford Lakes is a series of former gravel pits surrounded by grassland and willow, birch and alder woodland. The Dockens Water stream flows through the reserve and is bounded by ancient woodland of oak and beech. The lakes attract large numbers of wildfowl during the winter and in recent years great white egret has been a regular visitor with bittern in some winters. There are six bird hides in a variety of habitats and a centre with toilets. The New Forest’s open heaths and woodland can produce such birds as brambling, hawfinch, crossbill and often a few surprises. Coach leaves Headington Hill Hall at 8am. Price: About £20 depending on the numbers attending. Booking essential. Tel: 01865 723868. E-mail: anne@anclark.force9.co.uk (RSPB)

Tuesday 18, Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20: Family Fun: Beautiful Birds. Find out more about wildlife at Sutton Courtenay as the season changes. Birds are preparing for spring, why not give them a helping hand? Admission £3 donation meet Sutton Courtenay Environmental Education Centre 0X14 4TE. Contact Ceri Cadwalladar 01235 862024 or sceec@bbowt.org.uk (BBOWT)

Sunday 23: Godstow Oxon Field Outing: contact Steven Alley 01608 659628 (OOS)

Thursday 27: Making Global Health Better - Martin Wood Lecture Theatre (next to University Parks), Parks Road, Oxford 6 pm. How can we help people make well-informed choices about their own health? Hear from some of the world’s leading experts as they ask what we can learn from healthcare in other parts of the world, and what they can learn from us. Suitable for ages 13+. You do not need tickets, just come along, bring your email confirmation or booking number, and just turn up. Booking as Jan 3rd. (SOL)

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MARCH Saturday 1: Oxon Recorders and Conservation Day 2014: annual conference for species recording and nature conservation in Oxfordshire. Booking essential. Admission £10 concessions or £15. Meet Oxford University Museum of Natural History, OX1 3PW. Contact: Sally Jeffery 01865 815451 email: Sally Jeffery@oxfordshire.gov.uk or Julie Keran’s 01865 815293 Julie.Kerans@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Saturday 1: Wildlife Gardening. Small changes, big results for wildlife! Join our Oxford Community Wildlife Officer Andy Gunn and discover how to make the most of your space for wildlife, including tips on ponds and mini meadows, making bug boxes and other wildlife gadgets to enhance your garden. BOOKING ESSENTIAL. Admission: volunteers free, £30 all others. Meet at BBOWT’s Head Office Wildlife Garden, Littlemore OX4 4XT. Contact reception 01865 775 476. Email: volunteering@bbowt.org.uk (BBOWT)

Tuesday 4: Annual General Meeting, followed by Frances Watkins - Coronation Meadows. 7.45 pm. At the Old Schoolroom, Wolvercote. Members free, non-members £2. (ANHSO)

Thursday 6: Wildlife Crime - an Update. Simon Towers has recently retired as the Wildlife Crime Officer for West Oxfordshire. He will update us on the impact that wildlife crime has on our environment, and how we combat it both practically and with forensic science. 7.45pm Sandhills School, Terrett Avenue, Oxford OX3 8FN. Free to local group members. Visitors welcome, £3 on the door. Contact Tel: 07813782514. E-mail: lindaeneal@aol.com (RSPB)

Wednesday 12: Avian Conservation on Ascension Island a talk by Dr Jim Reynolds. 7.45pm. Stratfield Brake Sports Ground Kidlington. Members free, non-members donation. Details: Barry Hudson 01993 852028. (OOS)

Thursday 13: Why Teenage Girls Matter. Martin Wood Lecture Theatre, Parks Road, Oxford. 6pm. Teenage girls are on the frontline of the fight to raise living standards in developing countries. Dr Catherine Dolan researches the links between education, poverty, and reproductive health, and she will be exploring what can be done to help. Cost Free. Suitable for ages 13+. Booking as Feb. (SOL)

Sunday 23: Kingbury Water Park, Warks Field Outing: contact Steven Alley 01608 659628. (OOS)

Sunday 23: Car Trip to Wilstone Reservoir, Herts and College Lake, Bucks. Wilstone Reservoir is an artificial water-body fed by natural springs and surrounded by ancient marshes, reedswamp and willow carr. At this time of year there is always a good range of wintering ducks along with a few waders. College Lake Nature Reserve used to be a 200 acre disused chalk quarry. It is now a unique nature reserve managed by BBOWT. A range of habitats has been created from the bare chalk and this attracts a great variety of birds. College Lake has a brand new visitor centre with a large hide overlooking the marsh area. There is also a cafe and toilets on site. If you want to go direct to site the meeting place will be the car park at Wilstone Reservoir (Grid ref: 905,134) at about 10am. Car sharing leaving Headington Hill Hall at 9am Price: Petrol costs are shared between car occupants. (RSPB)

APRIL Tuesday 1: Planting for Bees in your garden – a talk by Dr Judy Webb. There is a national decline in all sorts of bees, which are major pollinators. We can all do something to help support bee populations by planting useful species in our own gardens. Judy Webb is a botanist and entomologist interested in encouraging bees in local wildlife sites in Oxfordshire. 7.45pm, The Old School Room, Wolvercote. Members: Free, Visitors: £2. (ANHSO)

NEXT NEWSLETTER Please send your copy for the next newsletter as soon as possible to: Janet Keene, 7 Norwood Avenue, Southmoor, Abingdon, OX13 5AD or if possible email: keene@ouwg.org.uk. The final deadline is by the end of February

OXFORD URBAN WILDLIFE GROUP Website: www.ouwg.org.uk Don't forget that we are here to help. Please contact any member of the committee for help or advice on wildlife matters and we will attempt to help or to put you in touch with someone who can answer.

Alan Hart (Warden) of Nature Park 07901 120 308 Janet Keene: Newsletter Oxford 820522 Delia Twamley: Planning Oxford 554636

CONTACTS FOR OTHER ORGANISATIONS

Ashmolean Natural History Society of Oxfordshire (ANHSO): Alison McDonald 556651 Botanic Garden: Oxford 286690 British Trust for Conservation Volunteers 01296 330033 Butterfly Conservation: David Redhead Oxford 772520

Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) Sietske Boeles Oxford 728153 City's Countryside Sites or Biodiversity in Parks Oxford 252240

email: parks@oxford.gov.uk Forest of Oxford: John Thompson Oxford 513528

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Friends of Aston’s Eyot (FAE) Ruth Ashcroft 01865 248344 Friends of CS Lewis Reserve (FoCSL) Helen d'Ayala Oxford 775476 Friends of Oxpens Meadow (FOM) Margaret Maden Oxford 721372 Friends of the Earth (Oxford): Jackie Walkden 07981 572629 Friends of the Trap Grounds (FoTG) Catherine Robinson Oxford 511307 Friends of Warneford Meadow (FoWM) Sietske Boeles Oxford728153 Local Wildlife Trust (BBOWT): Oxford 775476 New Marston Wildlife Group Curt Lamberth 07763 191072 Oxford Conservation Volunteers www.ocv.org.uk (OCV): Jo 07887 928115

Oxfordshire Nature Conservation Forum (ONCF): Oxford 407034 Oxford Ornithological Soc. (OOS): Barry Hudson 01993 852028 Oxford Tree Club (OTC): Ian Gourlay Oxford 245864 Oxfordshire Badger Group: Julia Hammett Oxford 864107 Oxfordshire Bat Group: David Endacott 01235 764832 Rare Plants Group (RPG): Sue Helm 07774205972 Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB): Peter Wilkinson Oxford 452579 Science Oxford Live (SOL): Oxford 728953 Shotover Wildlife (SW): Chair: Ivan Wright Oxford 874423 SS Mary & John Churchyard Group, Ruth Conway Oxford 723085 Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (TVERC) Gavin Bird Oxford 815411

UNIVERSITY of OXFORD – Department for Continuing Education Many of the Day and Weekend classes get booked up in advance. Here are some of the classes that are advertised so do

look on the website. Look in good time to see what is coming up that might interest you. DAY COURSES The Arctic – a natural history: Sat 22 Mar 2014. Oxford University, Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PW Short lectures given by Professor Paul Smith, the director of the museum, will be integrated with the examination of museum specimens and skeletal material from the collections. Fees from £40.00.

Woodland Ecology and Management: Sat 10 May 2014. From £125. Dr Keith Kirby and Mr Nigel Fisher (conservator of Wytham Woods) will lead students on a journey through the essntials of Woodland Ecology and onto the vital woodland management techniques 10am-5pm at Wytham Woods. The Oak in Natural History, History and Literature: Ewert House. Sat 14 Jun 2014. From £60.00 The oak is the most well-known of Britain’s native trees. This multidisciplinary day school will include the place of oak in legend and in the history of Britain. The natural history session includes identification, the wide range of birds, insects, flowers, fungi and lichens associated with the oaks and their woodlands. The management of oak woodlands, the supposed shortage of oak and the deliberate planting of new woodlands, the uses of oak are also examined. WEEKLY CLASSES Animal Diversity: 10 weekly meetings starting Tuesday 21 January 2014. 7.00-9.00 pm Fees from £175. Ewert House. Birds of a feather: An introduction to ornithology: 10 weekly meetings starting Wed 22 Jan 2014, 2-4pm Biological Sciences. CATS points – 10. Fees from £175. Ewert House. Birds are a diverse group that span beyond the visitors of our bird-tables. In this course we will explore aspects of bird biology, from diversity and evolutionary origin, through adaptations to the avian way of life, to bird behaviour and ecology. Birds of Oxfordshire: 10 weekly meetings starting Wed, 16 Apr 14, 7-9pm. Biological Sciences. CATS points – 10. Fees from £175. Rewley House. The course will help students develop the skills needed to identify and record the characteristic birds of Oxfordshire, understand their ecology and habitats, and explore current threats and solutions to their conservation. ONLINE COURSES Fees from £395.00 Tutor-led five-week standalone training course. Part-time over five weeks, tutor-led training courses taught entirely online £395 Field Techniques for Surveying Mammals & Reptiles. Wed 8 Jan to Wed 12 Feb 2014 Field Techniques for Surveying Birds Wed 12 Feb to Wed 19 Mar 2014 Field Techniques for Surveying Fish & Amphibians. Wed 26 Mar to Wed 30 Apr 2014 Field Techniques for Surveying Invertebrates Wed 30 April to Wed 4 June 2014 An Introduction to the Science of Climate and Climate Change This course is free of charge - please visit the www.climateeducation.net website for further details. Online – dates not confirmed.

There are many excellent courses coming up these are just a few of the details so visit Rewley House for leaflets or for more information contact the Administrator, Day & Weekend Schools, OUDCE, 1 Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JA. Tel 01865 - 270380 or by email: pp@conted.ox.ac.uk. Website: www.conted.ox.ac.uk.

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OUWG EVENTS www.ouwg.org.uk

WORK PARTIES at Boundary Brook Nature Park: Sundays between 10am and 1pm. Refreshments provided. Ring 07901 120 308 on day to ensure park will be open.

JANUARY Tuesday 21: Amphibians: a talk by Rod d’Ayala on amphibians (newts, toads, frogs) in general and

how to attract them to your garden ponds. Council Chamber in Oxford Town Hall. 7.30pm

FEBRUARY Sunday 16: Winter Walk through Christ Church Meadow. We will stroll through the Meadow,

hoping to see some wildlife and, for those who would like to, we will end by the Botanic Garden. Distance, route and timing will depend on the weather. Meet outside Oxford Town Hall, St Aldate’s at 2pm.

MARCH Saturday 1: Recorders and Conservation Conference at the Oxford University’s Museum of Natural

History. See Events for Other Organisations, page 10. Booking essential.    

Saturday 9: Launch of Oxfordshire Science Festival. OUWG stall in Bonn Square 10am-4pm. We will have a stall with books, puzzles for children, seeds and leaflets about OUWG

.Sunday 23: Spring Open Day 2-5pm. Come to see the spring flowers in all their glory, the active frogs and, if the weather is good, there may be early butterflies. There will be guided walks, and stalls with native wild plants, cottage garden plants and seeds, to attract wildlife to your garden this year, as well as booklets about wildlife for sale. Wheelchair access, admission free. Children under 14 to be accompanied by an adult.

APRIL Saturday 5: Oxfordshire Goes Wild 2014 Oxford University’s Museum of Natural History. The point of Oxfordshire Goes Wild is to enthuse children of roughly 4 – 12 years about their natural environment, by allowing them to get close to species they wouldn’t normally see. These include bats and owls, slow worms and mini-beasts, with enthusiasts there to tell the children about these creatures.

WORK PARTIES Boundary Brook Nature Park: Sundays between 10am and 1pm. Refreshments provided. Ring 07901 120 308 on day to ensure park will be open.

BOUNDARY BROOK NATURE PARK. Come and help us to manage the Nature Park. You can choose your task from a variety of jobs. A warm welcome guaranteed. You need not come for the whole time. Please ring on the day of the work party to ensure it has not been cancelled through bad weather etc.

Contact: Alan Hart 07901 120 308. Please note new contact number. There is often someone working at Boundary Brook so, if you want to come at other times, find out who will be there and when by ringing Alan Hart but check before setting out to make sure it is still on.

Bus route: Stagecoach Route 3.

OXFORD URBAN WILDLIFE GROUP If you wish to contact OUWG or would like to become a member write to the editor: Janet Keene, 7 Norwood Ave, Southmoor, Abingdon OX13 5AD or Tel: Oxford 820522. E-mail: keene@ouwg.org.uk

Registered charity no 1101126. Printed on paper from sustainable forests.