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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!).
May 2009
Many members of the Tit family,
that use the nest boxes around the park, are now
frantically feeding ever growing chicks with a
constant supply of caterpillars. As May wears
on the birds that nested early will have fledged,
and some species will go on to raise a second
brood.
Around the wetter areas Reed
and Sedge warblers can be heard proclaiming their
territory, with their “scratchy” songs,
far removed from the warbling sound that the name
suggests! Blackbirds and Thrushes often found
perched on top of tall hedges and trees around
day-break, have much more melodic song.
As the month wears on, spring
flowers like Primrose and Bluebell fade and give
way to plants such as Buttercups, Orchids, Daisy
and Ragged Robin, and shrubs like Dog Rose and
Elder take over from Hawthorn and Blackthorn.
The Red Kites that where displaying
around the general area seem to have disappeared,
so maybe just a young pair looking to establish
a future territory, or a pair that found a more
appealing nest site elsewhere.
And finally, after many attempts
I eventually managed to take images of Nuthatches
at Shtover (I was starting to think they didn’t
exist).
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