OXFORD WILDLIFENUMBER 101 NEWS SPRING 2014

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NEWS FROM BOUNDARY BROOK NATURE PARK

In spite of it being a record-breaking wet winter and, as Boundary Brook Nature Park is on low-lying ground not far from the Thames, we got away without being flooded although the ground is sodden and the pond level is very high. The only damage from the high winds was that 2 squirrel dreys in Home Wood were blown out of the trees. In January primroses were in bud and both types of Buddleia were coming into leaf. The first sighting of a black squirrel that we described in our last newsletter was picked up by the local press and in February there was an article and photo of Alan about it in the Oxford Times.

On Sunday 9th March we had a visit from a small group of volunteers from Do-It. It was an ideal day for a visit as it was the warmest day of the year so far. The sun was out and on our initial tour we saw a blue tit entering the nest box on the visitor centre, snowdrops and primroses in the wood, the wild daffodils in the Bird Orchard as well as near the demonstration Wildlife Garden (see left). A newt was swimming in the pond in the Wildlife Garden and a frog was on the ground nearby (see below). There were brimstone butterflies making the most of the sunny day. By March 17 the Park was swarming with croaking frogs so we hope for spawn and tadpoles before too long.

Work continues on the restoring the beds and habitats in the Demonstration Kitchen Garden. Emma Hughes and some friends are working on two of the garden plots with their children. They plan to

plant a fruit plot and a vegetable plot so that the children can see how the plants change through the seasons, and have the joy of harvesting their own fruit and vegetables.

EVENTS

Past . . .In January, Rod d’Ayala, who led us on a very interesting walk through the C.S. Lewis Reserve came 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 going to use the Town Hall in future 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 had another winter walk through Christ Church Meadow. At that time, like most of the riverside meadows, the Meadow was flooded. Quite a few intrepid souls turned out and in fact we saw a lot of interesting habitats by looking at the trees, and following the wall and ramparts along the northern edge. We were able to follow the Cherwell for a short distance and then headed back along the Broad Walk with the Thames water a few feet away.

Some members attended the Oxfordshire Recorders and Conservation Conference on March 1st in the University Museum of Natural History which had recently re-opened after being closed for 14 months for cleaning and repairing.

We had planned to have stall as usual in Bonn Square for the launch of the Oxfordshire Science Festival but sadly this year they were charging £250 for charities to hire a stall so we couldn’t afford it.

We hope for good weather for our Spring Open Day at Boundary Brook Nature Park on 23 March. At the present rate the pond will be definitely be full enough to allow pond-dipping in the pond rather than in an aquarium as last autumn.

This year’s AGM

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2Please note we are holding our AGM this year in the Jury Room at the Town Hall on Tuesday 13th May at 7pm. Do please come along and give us your support and let us know what you think of OUWG and any ideas you have for the future.

Future . . .Oxfordshire Goes Wild On Saturday April 5th from 12-4pm 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. Do come and take a turn on our stall if you can or just come for a visit and admire the Museum.

Hogacre Common Eco-park.On Sunday 11th May, 11.00 am - 12.15 pm we will have a guided walk led either by Hugo Crombie, from Low Carbon West Oxford (LCWO), or Ben Haydon, who is responsible for the day-to-day onsite management of Hogacre Common, the creation of which was originally a joint project between LCWO and Low Carbon South Oxford (LCSO). Hogacre Common Eco Park is about a mile south of the centre of Oxford City. It is reached via Abingdon Road,

Starting at Carfax, head south down St Aldates with Oxford Town Hall and Christ Church College to the left. Continue straight onto Abingdon Road and over the River Thames at Folly Bridge. 900 metres after Carfax, look out for The White House pub” (formerly the Folly Bridge Inn) on your right and take the turning next to the Inn onto Whitehouse Road. 200 metres along Whitehouse Road, look out for the gate on the left, across a metalled lane signed to Hogacre Common Eco Park. 300 metres down this lane and over the railway footbridge is Hogacre Common with its field, woodland and aquatic habitats. You can find out more about it on their website: http://www.hogacrecommon.org.uk/

You should be able to buy a simple lunch or just tea/coffee and cake at the café afterwards. Any age can come but children should be accompanied by a responsible adult.

AGM Tuesday13th May (see page 12).

Oxford Festival of Nature OUWG stall 7th JuneLast year we had a lively stall at the Oxford Festival of Nature in Botley Park This year the Festival will be in Cutteslowe Park in North Oxford this will be on 6-7 June. On Saturday afternoon there will be the main Nature Fair on Cutteslowe Park, where there will be stalls from a wide variety of organisations involved in wildlife and the environment from across the city including OUWG (12-4pm).

Guided Wildlife Walk - North HinkseySunday 15th June, 2.30 to 4.30 pm (with Optional Lunch at the Fishes at 12.30 pm) This is a joint event with the Ashmolean Natural History Society of Oxfordshire.

Tim King will be leading a guided wildlife walk around the parish of North Hinksey, where he lived during his formative years. The circular walk will last just under 2 hours, and will focus mainly on botany, taking in the diverse MG4 flood plain meadow vegetation on Hinksey Meadows, Oxford Preservation Trust's jubilee scrape, the Environment Agency tubes under Willow Walk which form part of Oxford's flood prevention measures, an introduction to creeping marshwort, Apium repens, south of Willow Walk, aquatic vegetation along the Bulstake Stream, epiphytic bryophytes, and ant hills at North Hinksey Churchyard (one of Tim's specialist research interests).

Walking boots are recommended. Meet at the bridge over the Seacourt Stream at the North Hinksey Lane end of Willow Walk (SP495056, nearest postcode OX2 0LZ); car parking along North Hinksey Lane. Alternatively, come from 12.30pm and have lunch / picnic at The Fishes (OX2 0NA, SP497054) before the walk. There may also be an option, for those who want more, to extend this walk to Raleigh Park and the Conduit House.

Summer Open Day at Boundary BrookSunday 22 June 2-5pm. Details on page 12.

Grant from Oxford City Council

We are delighted to receive another grant from Oxford City Council this year for £2,240. We appreciate their valuable support so much, in spite of all the cut-backs being made in so many areas. It is even more valuable because it is to cover the high running expenses which often do not appeal to many other grant-giving bodies. Annual expenses such as the rent for the site and insurance are expensive and essential. We especially value it as we aim to keep our membership inexpensive and free for unwaged members and

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2entrance to our events free if possible so that anyone can afford to come. We also are grateful for the many people who give a donation when appropriate.

Oxford University Museum of Natural HistoryThe picture on our front cover shows the grooming of the African elephant skeleton in preparation for the re-opening of the museum. It was taken by one of our members, Peter Upham, on 14th January.The refurbished Oxford University Museum of Natural History was reopened to the public on February15.

Photo by Pete Upham. Some of these rare dinosaur exhibits are waiting to be unveiled when work is finished. During the 14 months that it was closed, more than 8,500 glass tiles were cleaned and replaced on the roof individually and resealed so that the collection of buckets used when it rained are no longer required . Some new tiles were needed and were handmade to match the original Victorian ones. The result is a sparkling new roof allowing the waiting, cleaned specimens to be studied in splendour. Exhibits were cleaned and there was some necessary restoration of some of them.

This Grade 1 Listed Building is 150 years old. The presence of scaffolding allowed the whale skeletons to be lowered and cleaned for the first time in 100 years. The skeleton on the front cover is having a hoovering! Not something it would have been used to. One major event soon after the opening was the Recorders and Conservation Conference which took place on 1 March and attended by some of our members. Local environmental groups met and give brief reports and exchanged information about their progress and activities. We had some interesting talks and also a chance to look around the exhibits and one group were able to go behind the scenes..

If you haven’t already visited it recently why not visit during the “Oxfordshire Goes Wild” event on Saturday 5 th April from 12-4pm. We will be having a stall there with activities for children including mini-pond-dipping – see page 12 for more details. On other stalls you can meet a live owl or touch a live snake as well as many other activities. As is always the case, entry to the museum is free.

Holywell CemeteryYou probably know that OUWG has always taken an interest in Holywell Cemetery. Over 26 years ago we were asked to give advice on the management of the cemetery for wildlife. At that stage it was very overgrown but hosted a lot of wildlife – foxes, deer, many insects and birds. There were goldcrests seen in the conifers and pheasants nested on the ground. The cemetery was full so there were few recent burials to provide funds. Sometimes we are told that at the end of summer the Lodge Keeper who kept an eye on the cemetery set fire to the vegetation to do some clearance work. Otherwise, Canon Bostock, then getting on in years mowed the paths periodically. You may have read in the local papers that there is a development proposed at the end of Manor Place to build student accommodation. MacLaren Property hopes to build 294 new student residences. This will sadly be on the open grassland behind the cemetery with its view across the Cherwell Valley, and flood plain, including the ancient Holywell Mill by the Holywell Mill Stream and the River Cherwell. These 3- and 4-storey blocks will impinge sadly on the beautiful, peaceful atmosphere of this wonderful cemetery. It is visited frequently by tourists (looking at the graves of famous people such as Kenneth Graham the author of Wind in the Willows), by people from nearly offices, who come to a relaxing place to have their lunch and, judging by the occasional candle stubs and champagne corks in the summer, by students celebrating the end of exams with a late picnic.

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2Planning permission is being submitted soon so please keep an eye open and maybe express your opinion. At the moment one local couple visit the cemetery daily and invariably spot foxes and deer both in the cemetery and on the grassland, where development is due to take place, between the cemetery and the river,. Janet Keene

People and wildlife come together in new Wild Oxford projectYou may be interested to hear that 3 sites, which many of us have visited, are included in Wild Oxford, a new two-year project on three wildlife sites in the city, which will bring together communities and people taking action for their local nature.

The Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) is leading the Wild Oxford project in partnership with Oxford City Council, which owns the three very special wildlife sites: Lye Valley in Headington, Rivermead Nature Park in Rose Hill and Chilswell Valley in South Hinksey.

The Wild Oxford project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), the Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment (TOE2) with funds from Grundon Waste Management.

Neil Clennell, head of conservation & education for Oxfordshire welcomed the new project: “This is a fascinating opportunity to bring the people of Oxford closer to the unique and historic biodiversity of our city. I am delighted that the Wildlife Trust will be working with Oxford City Council and other partners, such as residents’ groups and the Natural History Museum, to make this exciting project come alive.”

Andy Gunn, the Wild Oxford project manager, said: “During the next two years we will be running events across the city to inspire people of all ages to explore and discover the wild green spaces in Oxford. We will be running workshops for people of all abilities so that people can learn traditional conservation skills including coppicing, hedge-laying and scything.”

The three sites chosen for the Wild Oxford project are all important for their rare fenland habitats.

Lye Valley, a 4.5 ha site tucked away behind the Churchill Hospital is one of the best recorded examples of limestone fen in southern England because botanists from Oxford have studied the site since the 1600s.

Parts of the Valley are within a Site of Special Scientific Interest, noted for more than 300 plant species including 20 that are on the rare plants of Oxfordshire register.

Rivermead Nature Park is a 3 ha site that lies within the busy housing estates at Rose Hill, with wet woodland that drops down to the River Thames. The local community places great value on the green spaces at Rivermead, but the woodland and ponds have become overgrown. The Wild Oxford project will work with local people to revive the Friends of Rivermead Nature Park group to take forward practical conservation work and celebrate the wildlife of this area.

Chilswell Valley in South Hinksey has been known as ‘Happy Valley’ for at least 100 years because of its popularity as a place for people to enjoy their natural heritage; Good Friday was traditionally the Happy Valley picnic day early in the 20th century.  Many local people in Kennington and South Hinksey are still passionate about this hidden gem and care deeply about its wildlife. Scrub will be cleared, interpretation signs put up more than 20 years ago will be replaced and boardwalks renewed so that more people can access this fenland valley and discover the unusual wildlife that lives here.

Photo by Wendy Tobitt of BBOWT: Chilswell Valley – the boardwalk through the fen looking towards the wet woodland (see details of BBOWT Wild Oxford picnic and walk here on Friday 18 April. (Details on page 9.)

You read it here

first!In our last newsletter, under News from Boundary Brook Nature Park, there was a report of Alan Hart’s sighting of a black squirrel. This report must have been picked up by the Oxford Times who came to interview and photograph Alan in February. Subsequently I was sent a letter with a copy of the Daily Telegraph’s Nature Notes on Tuesday March 4th. Someone in Essex spotted it and, after some detective work, found our details and contacted me to tell us. Has anyone else spotted reports? Sadly the squirrel hasn’t been seen since but do keep an eye open for one.

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Slow Worms at the Trap GroundsThe Slow Worm (Anguis fragilis) may be classified as a ‘Priority Species’ under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, but – far from declining – the population on the Trap Grounds Town Green in north Oxford is thriving. Starting in early May and continuing until early November, more sightings of this legless lizard were recorded in 2013 than in any previous years. Up to 15 at a time were in evidence, basking among piles of stones in sunny spots on the grassland. The best sighting was of six adults, snoozing in the company of a juvenile Grass Snake, in late September.

According to www.arkive.org, Slow Worms usually emerge from hibernation in March, and courtship tends to take place between mid-May and late June. Depending on the local climate, the female will mate

annually or once every two years. She gives birth to an average of eight live young between mid-August and mid-September. It takes between six and eight years for the Slow Worm to become fully grown, although the male reaches sexual maturity at three or four years of age. The female becomes sexually mature at four or five years of age. This species is relatively long-lived, with one specimen known to have lived for 54 years.

In the United Kingdom, the Slow Worm is protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981). Under this act, it is illegal to kill, injure, and sell individuals of this species.

Catherine RobinsonSecretary, The Friends of the Trap Grounds

Trap Grounds Slow Worms, September 2013 (Terry Ewart)

St Valentine’s DayFebruary 14th, the current St Valentine’s Day, is supposed to be when plants and flowers start to grow. It used to be the day when work started in the vineyards and fields. It is supposed to mark the beginning of spring.

Chaucer wrote:For this was on seynt Volantynys dayWhan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.

["For this was on St. Valentine's Day, When every bird cometh there to choose his mate."]

Photo: Wood pigeons by Peter Keene

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An Over-looked Eco SystemWhat a hard year it’s been for garden wildlife, so let’s all make a few changes to help our visiting friends thrive.

Our gardens are an important eco-system we so easily overlook.

Being over-tidy can be counter-productive as lots of insects need somewhere to hide during the winter months. If you’ve spent the whole summer attracting insects into your garden and building the food chain, you need to give them somewhere to hibernate. Predators of what gardeners see as pests often hide under leaves, long grass and deadwood. All these things we often clear away during winter.

Give what you have attracted somewhere to hide and they will emerge and be with you again in spring.

You don’t have to grow massive wild flower meadows to

be a wildlife gardener – if you only have a balcony or window box wild flowers can be grown in them too.

A wildlife garden may bring visions of a messy, overgrown garden with nettles and native species only. However, if the garden is managed properly and with non-native plants, it will provide a habitat for lots of invertebrates, insects, amphibians, birds and mammals all year round. People always ask for gardens with year round interest, yet overlook wildlife gardening.

The value of an animal-friendly and chemical-free area for all creatures, should not be underestimated – so even if you don’t have a garden you can get involved even in a small way.

Happy Gardening,Stuart Mabbutt.

Wildlife Gardening Specialist 01865 747243

Are you a wildlife spotter?There are so many opportunities now to record wildlife for varying organisations who make good use of the data you submit. Here are some examples. Some of you may have taken part in the Big Garden Birdwatch – this year on 25-26 January 2014. These regular annual results are a very good record of how the different species are doing – whether their numbers are going down or whether they are thriving. Judging by the frequency of refilling the bird feeders you can see how valuable your addition to the meagre rural winter food supply is appreciated in our towns.

Diary of Incidental Sightings Have you seen anything interesting to send to Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre?If so they would welcome anything of wildlife interest. You just need to include the following information.

Species seen Date Grid reference Locality NotesInformation needed in the diary Your name – please put your full name, not just your initials or first name only. Address and telephone number – this is useful if we have to get back to you to clarify details of a record and helps us

to separate two recorders with the same name. Date – an exact date is best (06/10/59) but a vague date (1959) or range of dates (Oct to Nov 1959) is acceptable . Species seen – a common name is acceptable if this is how the species is invariably identified e.g. ‘badger’ but a Latin

name should be added where this is helpful e.g. fungi, flowering plants with a number of common names. Locality – what you write here should enable someone else to find your location on a map (this will help TVERC to

double check your grid reference). Grid reference – a six figure grid reference should be given as standard but greater accuracy could be useful for notable

species. A four figure grid reference may be acceptable for mobile species. Notes – this is where you can record abundance (how many you saw) and sex / stage and other details e.g. two adults

(one male, one female) seen dead at side of road.Return Berkshire or Oxfordshire records to:

Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre, c/o Oxfordshire County Council, Signal House, Old Station Way, Eynsham, Oxon. OX29 4TL

email: tverc@oxfordshire.gov.uk Tel: 01865 815451

What have you seen recently? Do let us know of anything of interest that you have seen in the Oxford area which could put in our next newsletter for example: There were at least 4 frogs seen in a pond in north Oxford on March 3rd and spawn was spotted on 15th March.

Butterfly Recording

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2Butterfly Conservation Upper Thames Branch produces a straightforward record sheet to fill in during the year of the butterflies you spot in your garden. You will also receive a summary of the Oxfordshire recordings at the end of the year. This year’s report of the butterflies recorded in 2013 shows that of the 43 species of butterflies listed as having been recorded in Oxfordshire at least occasionally, there were only 7 species not spotted last year. The commonest, as usual, was the Brimstone and the Peacock when 98% of recorders reported them. Although last year’s recording season started on 3rd March after a promising start three days later it was cold and dreary again and there were hardly any butterflies recorded in the middle two weeks of March. If you would like to join the survey this year please contact: Mrs Margaret Price, Perdiswell Farm, Woodstock, Oxon OX20 1QJ.

Email gardener_price@hotmail.com or contact: Photo: Small tortoiseshell butterfly by Peter Keene

Jim Asher with queries jim.asher@btinternet.comThis year so far I think I’ve seen more Small tortoiseshell butterflies in winter than I did in the garden last summer! They seem to drop in a daze from the upstairs curtains. Presumably they came in the autumn through open windows and started to hibernate but, as the rooms were warmed through the central heating, they mistakenly got the message that spring had arrived and started to come out of hibernation. I soon disillusioned them by transferring them to my garden shed where I hope winter would set in again for them.

An unusual fungus at Boundary Brook

One of our members, Emma Hughes, spotted an unusual white fungus at Boundary Brook. It was near the big pond, just past the willow den. She took these two lovely photos and I showed them to Judith Webb, an expert in so many things, when I went to the Recorders Conference. She wanted us to send her a dried specimen so she could examine the spores, produced by the white gills, to be sure of her identification. Unfortunately, by

then, the

fungus had died away and couldn’t be found. She was fairly certain that with these white gills it was Hemimycena mairii, a type of bonnet fungus which is common in nutrient poor grassland. So, if you are in the nature park next year and you see one – pick a sample, put it on a radiator to dry and contact me so you can send it to Judy to be sure. Photos by Emma Hughes

Vacancy for a webmaster of www.ouwg.org.uk

Mark Franks, who has done such a good job taking over the management and improvement of our most attractive website wants to find a replacement. He is happy to help handle the transfer to someone else and explain what he does. Obviously you could make changes if you wanted to but the main task is to update our programme of events each quarter and put in the new newsletter under the Reading Matter section. He can explain how he does it. If you want to find out more please contact me in the first instance – Janet Keene Tel: 01865 820522 or email: keene@ouwg.org.uk.

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

APRILTuesday 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

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2gardens. Judy Webb is a botanist and entomologist interested in encouraging bees in local wildlife sites in Oxfordshire. 7.45pm, The Old School Room, behind St. Peter's Church, First Turn, Wolvercote, OX2 8AQ. Members: Free, Visitors: £2. (ANHSO)Tuesday 1: Friends of the Trap Grounds Annual General Meeting followed by refreshments and an illustrated talk by Julia Lofthouse, the BBOWT Water Vole Officer, 7.30 pm at St Margaret’s Institute, Polstead Road. Details from the FoTG Secretary: 01865 511307. (FoTG)Thursday 3: The Birds of the Carmargue. An illustrated talk by Jonathan Forgham who will describe the joy of watching short-toed eagles, stilts, flamingos and the many other birds that make the Camargue such a special place. This great wetland region, at the mouth of the River Rhone in southern France may be famous for its horses but it is an amazing area for birds too. Sandhills School, Terrett Avenue, Oxford OX3 8FN. Free to local group members. Visitors welcome, £3 on the door. Time: 7.45pm. Contact Tel: 07813782514. E-mail: lindaeneal@aol.com (RSPB)Wednesday 9: Cape and Kruger a talk by Peter Barker. 7.45pm. Stratfield Brake Sports Ground, Kidlington. Members free, non-members donation. Details: Barry Hudson 01993 852028. (OOS) Sunday 13: Field trip to Lee Valley Field Outing: contact Stephen Alley 01608 659628. Free and open to non-members. (OOS)Tues 15, Wed 16, Thurs 17: Family Fun: Springtime Spectacular Sutton Courtenay. Drop in and join the hunt for signs of spring and find out more about amazing animal life cycles. Pond dipping, springtime trail and nature themed art activities. No need to book. Details: time and how to find it are on the website: http://www.bbowt.org.uk/events/ (BBOWT)Wednesday 16: Get Growing!   11 am - 1 pm Help us celebrate National Gardening Week: come along for sowing and growing activities, craft, a trail and more! Oxford Botanic Garden. Adult Day ticket £4.50 Children in full-time education accompanied by an adult, family member – free. Drop-in session.  Free with entry to the Garden. University of Oxford Botanic Garden.Friday 18: Wild Oxford: Happy Valley Picnic - Family walk: Chilswell Valley Nature Reserve, 11:00am - 3:00pm. As part of The Wild Oxford project, we invite you to take part in a traditional picnic at Chilswell Valley Nature Reserve, locally known as Happy Valley. Bring a picnic and enjoy guided walks, children's activities, with fantastic views of Oxford. Meet on the Limestone Grassland at the top of Chilswell Path which is off the Southern Bypass on the lane to Oxford Garden Centre. Event will be clearly sign posted on the day. Limited parking available. South Hinksey, nr Oxford OX1 5AP Grid reference. SP502037 (BBOWT)Wed 23, Thurs 24: Nature Tots at Sutton Courtenay Environmental Education Centre, nr Didcot, Oxon An opportunity for your pre-school little ones to interact with and learn from nature. Come along for an outdoor nature play, games, stories and craft on our wild and wonderful nature reserve. Dress for the weather. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Tea, biscuits and mud provided. Booking essential by phone: 01235 862024 or email sceec@bbowt.org.ukSunday 27: Coach Trip to RSPB Cliffe Pools, Kent. The reserve is a mix of saline lagoons, freshwater pools, grassland, saltmarsh and scrub, bordering the Thames estuary. There is an excellent chance to see some unusual species, such as sandpipers and stints. Big flocks of ducks and grebes also gather at this time and hen harriers. Time: Coach leaves Headington Hill Hall at 7.30am. Price: About £20 depending on the numbers attending. Booking essential. Tel: 01865 723868. E-mail: anne@anclark.force9.co.uk (RSPB)

MAYThursday 1: Illustrated Talk - Changing Wildlife of the Chilterns. John Tyler's talk will take us back a hundred million years to follow the story of the changing Chiltern landscape and its wildlife from warm seas, through Ice Ages, tundra and forest to the farmland and beech woods of today. Sandhills School, Terrett Avenue, Oxford OX3 8FN. Free to local group members. Visitors welcome, £3 on the door. Time: 7.45pm. Contact Tel: 07813782514. E-mail: lindaeneal@aol.com (RSPB)Tuesday 6: Adders a talk by Neil Clennell. The Warburg Reserve, has the last population of Adders in Oxfordshire, and even there they are now on the brink of extinction, BBOWT have been working with Natural England and ZSL to collect and analyse DNA from the region’s remaining snakes and create a genetic map of those extant populations. 7.45pm, The Old School Room, behind St. Peter's Church, First Turn, Wolvercote, OX2 8AQ. Members: Free, Visitors: £2. (ANHSO) Saturday 10: Bird-Song Walk and Newt Survey. Meet us at 7 am on the canal towpath at the entrance to the Trap Grounds for a one-hour stroll around the woodland and wetland, checking bottle traps for Great Crested Newts and enjoying the post-dawn chorus. (FoTG)Sunday 11: Mesopotamia, Oxon Field outing contact Stephen Alley 01608 659628 (OOS)Thursday 15: Get Ready for Gardening!  Under 5s event.  10.30 am - 12.30 pm. Come along for craft, a growing activity, a mini tour and more, to explore everything you need to begin gardening this season!  This is an International Day of Families celebration. Drop-in session.  Free with entry to the Garden. (see April 16th) University of Oxford Botanic Garden.

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2Sunday 18: Coach Trip to Beaulieu Road Station, New Forest. Coach leaves Headington Hill Hall at 8am. This area of heather and gorse heathland, common woodland and stands of pine can produce a great variety of birds. Regular sightings of crossbill, hawfinch, redstart and tree pipit are recorded along with occasional views of lesser spotted woodpecker. There are no facilities on site. Price: About £20 depending on the numbers attending. Booking essential Telephone: 01865 723868. E-mail: anne@anclark.force9.co.uk (RSPB)Sunday 18: Nuneham Park. A walk in the grounds of Nuneham House (former home of the Harcourts), now run as “The Global Retreat Centre”. Views of the Thames (links with Alice in Wonderland), fine old trees and grounds landscaped by Capability Brown. Park in the main car park, on the left as you approach the house and take small path to the house (signed) to meet in the courtyard at 14.00. Nuneham Park, Nuneham Courtenay, Oxon, OX44 9PG. OS 541981 (OTC)

JUNE Tuesday 3: The rise and fall of our wood culture a talk by Dr Gabriel Hemery. Over the last 350 years the nature and health of our woodlands and treescapes have changed in step with their utility. Today, perhaps more so than in the last one hundred years, great sylvan opportunities lie ahead, and some significant challenges. Dr Hemery celebrates the legacy ofEvelyn's 1664 Sylva, and looks to the future. 7.45pm, The Old School Room, behind St. Peter's Church, First Turn, Wolvercote, OX2 8AQ. Members: Free, Visitors: £2. (ANHSO)Thursday 5: St Mary and St John Churchyard Summer Picnic. 6pm onwards A friendly social evening with the chance to explore the churchyard's wildlife and its links with local history. Bring and share food.  Soft drinks provided. Family friendly and children welcome! Weather contingency plan. www.ssmjchurchyard.org.uk. Contact: Ruth Conway: Oxford 723085 ruthconway@abelian.net.  Sunday 8: Otmoor: Field outing contact Stephen Alley 01608 659628 (OOS) Thursday 12: Teddy Bears' Picnic, Under 5s event.  10.30 am - 12.30 pm. Bring along your favourite teddy, and enjoy stories, craft and more in the beautiful Botanic Garden.  Don't forget your picnic! University of Oxford Botanic Garden. Drop-in session.  Free with entry to the Garden (as April 16).Sunday 15: Car Trip to Greenham Common, West Berks. Car sharing leaving Headington Hill Hall at 7pm. An evening trip to this extensive area of common land looking for nightjar, woodcock, tree pipit and the elusive woodlark. There are no facilities on site. Insect repellent is advisable. If you wish to meet on site be at the Blue Gate car park at about 8pm (Grid Ref: 484653). Time: Car sharing leaving Headington Hill Hall at 7pm. Price: Petrol costs are shared between car occupants. Telephone: 01865723868 E-mail: anne@anclark.force9.co.uk (RSPB)

JULYTuesday 1st: Ocean circulation and climate a talk by Dr Renske Gelderloos The ocean plays a very important role in the Earth's climate system through storage and transport of heat, fresh water and carbon. Dr Gelderloos will discuss the principle ocean circulation patterns and how they affect well-known climatic phenomena such as El Niño and the hydrological cycle. Furthermore, as increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere affect the circulation in the ocean, this will feed back onto the climate system. 7.45pm, The Old School Room, behind St. Peter's Church, First Turn, Wolvercote, OX2 8AQ. Members: Free, Visitors: £2. (ANHSO)

CONTACTS FOR OTHER ORGANISATIONSAshmolean Natural History Society of Oxfordshire (ANHSO): Alison McDonald 556651Botanic Garden: Oxford 286690British Trust for Conservation Volunteers 01296 330033Butterfly 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

Friends of Aston’s Eyot (FAE) Ruth Ashcroft 01865 248344Friends of CS Lewis Reserve (FoCSL) Helen d'Ayala Oxford 775476Friends of Oxpens Meadow (FOM) Margaret Maden Oxford 721372Friends of the Earth (Oxford): Jackie Walkden 07981 572629Friends of the Trap Grounds (FoTG) Catherine Robinson Oxford 511307

Friends of Warneford Meadow (FoWM) Sietske Boeles Oxford728153

Local Wildlife Trust (BBOWT): Oxford 775476New Marston Wildlife Group Curt Lamberth 07763 191072Oxford Conservation Volunteers www.ocv.org.uk (OCV):

Jo 07887 928115 Oxfordshire Nature Conservation Forum (ONCF): Oxford 407034Oxford Ornithological Soc. (OOS): Barry Hudson 01993 852028Oxford Tree Club (OTC): Ian Gourlay Oxford 245864Oxfordshire Badger Group: Julia Hammett Oxford 864107Oxfordshire Bat Group: David Endacott 01235 764832Rare Plants Group (RPG): Sue Helm 07774205972Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB): Peter Wilkinson Oxford 452579Science Oxford Live (SOL): Oxford 728953 Shotover Wildlife (SW): Chair: Ivan Wright Oxford 874423SS Mary & John Churchyard Group, Ruth Conway Oxford 723085Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (TVERC) Gavin Bird Oxford 815411

NEXT NEWSLETTER

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2Please send your copy text and/or photos for the next newsletter (for July, August and September) 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 May.

OXFORD URBAN WILDLIFE GROUP Website: www.ouwg.org.ukDon'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 308Janet Keene: Newsletter Oxford 820522

UNIVERSITY of OXFORD – Department for Continuing Education

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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 COURSESPolitics of the Environment Friday 11 April. A one day CPD workshop on the theme of politics and the environment. Fees from £125.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.Economics of Climate Change. Friday 23 May A one-day CPD workshop covering the Economics of Climate Change.10am-5pm. Fees from £125.

The Oak in Natural History, History and Literature: Ewert House. Sat 14 Jun 2014. From £60..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.Grassland Ecology and Management. Saturday 21 June. This one day course is to be delivered by Dr Kerry Lock, and held from 10am-5pm at Chimney Meadows nature reserve. This session will provide students will an overview of grassland types in the UK, their importance and ecology. Fees from £125.

WEEKLY CLASSES 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 £395Field Techniques for Surveying Invertebrates Wed 30 April to Wed 4 June 2014An 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 detailsso 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.ukWORK 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.

APRILSaturday 5: Oxfordshire Goes Wild 2014 Oxford University’s Museum of Natural History. 12-4pm.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. OUWG will have a stall and as before will be doing some mini-pond-dipping as well as the usual puzzles.

Saturday 12? or Saturday 26?: Annual Fritillary count depending on weather and flooding we plan to help with the count at Osney Mead. The precise date and time will be publicised at end March. Phone Tim King (01865-515453) nearer the time if you wish to take part.

MAYSunday 11: Hogacre Common Eco-park for a guided walk around this 11-acre site on the fertile flood plain

about a mile south of the centre of Oxford City. 11.00 am - 12.15 pm. It is reached via Abingdon Road Details of getting there on Page 3

Tuesday 13: AGM in Jury Room in Oxford Town Hall at 7pm

JUNE

Saturday 7: Oxford Festival of Nature at Sunnymead and Cutteslowe Parks. OUWG stall on Cutteslowe area from 12am-4pm. (See details on page 3).

Sunday 15: Guided Wildlife Walk around North Hinksey (with Optional Lunch at the Fishes at 12.30 pm).led by Tim King. See details on page 3. 2.30 to 4.30 pm. Joint event with Ashmolean Natural History Society of Oxfordshire. Walking boots recommended. There may also be an option for those who want more to extend this walk to Raleigh Park and the Conduit House.

Sunday 22: Summer Open Day 2-5pm. We hope the Park will be full of butterflies, birds, wild flowers and that the ponds will be seething with life. There will be guided walks stalls with native wild plants, cottage garden plants and seeds, as well as booklets about wildlife for sale. Wheelchair access, admission free. Children under 14 to be accompanied by an adult.

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. 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.

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