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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!).
August 2008
A rather damp but mild month
has seen a variety of fungi start to appear around
the park and many of the “hedge row”
fruits and berries are ripening rapidly as August
turns into September. Blackberries and elderberries
are already being eaten by the parks birds and
also mammals, such as foxes and rodents. Squirrels
too are particularly noticeable at this time of
year, as they start to build up supplies for the
leaner months.
Already Blackbirds have staked
their claim on the odd Rowan trees scattered here
and there, and the best time to spot them is first
thing in the morning, as they refuel after spending
the hours of darkness in gradually chilling temperatures.
They can get quite aggressive in defence of trees
with good crops of ripe berries, this again a
reminder, that in nature “only the strong
will survive”.
Many of the Swallows and Martins,
that have spent the summer months hawking over
the parks meadows, will soon start to gather on
telephone wires etc. before making the long flight
to Africa to over winter on the vast plains, crossing
such places as the Sahara desert in a single flight.
With days rapidly shortening
it becomes increasingly difficult to photograph
the wildlife, as the difference between daybreak
and dog walking, means fewer available hours to
take an image, before animals hide themselves
away from human activity.
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