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An Introduction to Shotover
Park
Shotover Country Park in Oxfordshire
incorporates Shotover Hill and Brasenose Woods.
Today Shotover Country Park is a wild and beautiful
place where anyone can go for recreation, or to
enjoy the great variety of grassland, heathland,
woodlands, and wetlands.
The wildlife includes 27 species
of mammals ranging from voles to deer, three of
Britain's indigenous reptiles, all three species
of British newts, five species of bats, 28 different
species of butterflies, over 100 species of birds,
nearly 200 different moths, and hundreds of other
insects which provide living proof that this place
is almost free from pollution.
Some of the land in Shotover
Country Park is still owned by the University.
As protection against development, the City of
Oxford has undertaken to preserve its own farmland
on the south side of the hill in its natural state,
as a condition of receiving a large gift of land
from the Oxford Preservation Trust into the Country
Park.
Wild About Dairy of Shotover
Park
Covering nearly two hundred and
ninety acres Shotover Park is a haven on the outskirts
of a very large city, most of the park being designated
as SSSI. I call it my local patch, travelling
the globe to find wild life images. I love to
get back to see what’s going on at a local
level, and this is where to find it.
In the summer I am quite often
found lurking in the bracken to photograph Roe
deer or rabbits, through to Autumn for fungi fly
agaric, one of the more obvious ones, to the tiny
candle snuff, all here if you know where to look
(check the pdf for information on dates for forays).
From ancient woodland to managed
beech and heather Shotover Park offers a very
diverse landscape, managed by rangers from Oxford
City Council based at Brasenose Farm. Further
details of up and coming events can be obtained
through the PDF,or directly from the council on
01865715830, or alternatively you can email countryside@oxford.gov.uk.
Enjoy the park ,which has good
parking, several well marked trails, and an information
board stocked with leaflets. I hope to see some
of you using this wonderful facility (I’m
the one usually dressed like a commando, so don’t
be alarmed!).
January 2010
Possibly the coldest and snowiest
start to the New Year for a very long time, with
a good covering of snow for the first two weeks
of the month. This brings with it a bad time for
small birds This generally means the smaller they
are the more of a struggle they have finding enough
food to supply their fast metabolic rates, burning
up a lot of calories just to keep warm.
Not had time for many visits
this month what with a trip to Scotland and the
weather, but on the occasions I have it has surprised
me how little notice some of the birds actually
take if you stand still. I watched a Gold crest
busily hunting for small insects in a Hawthorn
bush that was only about four feet away from me
and not in the slightest way bothered by my presence!
The hunt is still on for Redwing
and Fieldfare, which are around now in good numbers
but are proving difficult to get good images of.
They seem to be feeding in open pasture in small
groups, and I will put more time into this project
next month, as Scotland and a trip to Norway seem
to have taken up a lot of time this month.
Rooks are now settling into their
nests, which seems odd considering the weather,
but their chicks must need a little longer to
fledge than some of the birds we have.
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