King of the river

1:41pm Wednesday 6th August 2008

August is a month for taking things at an easy pace. In nature, birds take much the same view. Most species have now seen their young fledge and levels of activity drop off considerably.

However, there is still much birdlife to be seen in and around our county and this is a good time to seek out some of our most special birds.

Among these, the kingfisher must rank highly in many people's list of favourite birds. But it is often just a flash of electric blue, or the clear sound of its piping call, that alerts the observer to its presence.

Wherever there is shallow, slow moving - or still - water, holding plenty of fishy prey, and soft banks nearby in which to nest, then there is a good chance that this flashy and superb hunter will be in attendance. Oxfordshire holds reasonably good numbers of kingfisher and most suitable rivers can be expected to host these birds along their length. The Thames is as good a place as any to look but also try the Rivers Windrush, Cherwell, Evenlode and Thame. The Oxford Canal is also worthy of a check as indeed are many of the ponds, reservoirs and lakes around the county including Blenheim Park Lake and the Dorchester Gravel Pits. A number of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) reserves in Oxfordshire are also reliable sites for the bird especially Foxholes (River Evenlode), Dry Sandford Pit, CS Lewis and Tuckmill Meadow (Tuckmill Brook).

If the kingfisher is difficult to spot then the turtle dove sadly now proves to be even more elusive. There was a time, in the not too distant past, where these charming and delicate little doves would have been a common site and sound in any Oxfordshire parish. These days this summer visitor is regarded as uncommon not just here but across the country as a whole. The massive reduction in numbers is largely due to the shooting of vast numbers as they pass through Malta on their spring migration. Fortunately, with Malta now a recent member of the European Community, such slaughter must end or this tiny Mediterranean republic will be brought before the European Court of Justice (we trust!). For this year at least, August is your last chance to see this lovely bird before it returns to its wintering quarters in Africa. Although you might be lucky and find one just about anywhere in open country, the RSPB's reserve at Otmoor offers the best chance of a sighting. Elsewhere check for them at BBOWT's Warburg Nature Reserves near Henley or at the Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve.

Another species that has suffered a recent and massive drop in numbers is the corn bunting. Whilst regarded by some as a bird of no great attractiveness, its disappearance from much of our countryside should nevertheless be considered tragic - for it is a species which is one of our few real (cereal) farmland specialists and a key indicator' species, its loss highlighting that not all is well with our farmed landscape. To thrive the corn bunting needs a traditional mix of agricultural land, with plenty of weed seed and, preferably, crops of barley on which to feed. If present, it is best looked for atop telephone lines from where it often offers its characteristic jangling song, head thrust back in dramatic pose.

Best places hereabouts to search out corn buntings include the Oxfordshire Chilterns (which remain one of the UK's strongholds for the species) as well as around Upper Heyford and at BBOWT's Wells Farm Nature Reserve near Little Milton.

Fortunately, and in contrast to the previous two species covered, the barn owl seems to be having a reversal of fortunes in and around Oxford. Until recent times, the white owl' would have been present throughout the county; so much so that its screeching on three concurrent nights was believed locally to foretell of death. However, following catastrophic decline, sightings are now increasing and certainly in my part of the Cotswolds I can be pretty sure of seeing a number of pairs on any given evening I care to look for them. Some of the more recent and wildlife-friendly changes in agricultural practice (such as providing headlands and set-aside) as well as individuals and groups such as BBOWT providing nesting boxes and managing land sympathetically, have certainly helped a gentle recovery in numbers which one can only hope will continue. This improvement in affairs is perhaps most apparent in the west of the county with suitable habitat in river valleys proving to be particularly attractive to the species. Check out the meadows along the River Windrush, from Burford to Standlake, or the River Thames - especially at BBOWT's magnificent Chimney Meadows Nature Reserve near Bampton.

For butterflies, August is the last month of the year in which to see a good range and good numbers of these insects and is the prime month for some particular species. Of these, Oxfordshire can boast a number of the more interesting. On the western edge of their British range, the Essex skipper can be found throughout Oxfordshire in areas of open, sunny grassland - with un-kept road verges being particularly good for them. Pop along to BBOWT's Dry Sandford Pit Nature Reserve near Abingdon to spot them. Numbers peak at the beginning of the month but decline substantially as September approaches.

The species that is believed, by some, to have put the butter' into butterfly' is the brimstone - on account of the colour of the male's wings. Uniquely for a British butterfly, this unmistakable species is found in just about any month of the year and can be seen at BBOWT's Bernwood Meadows Nature Reserve near Horton-cum-Studley where you can wander through the wildflower meadows as butterflies dance around you. In August, its larvae emerge as adults (earlier flying insects being survivors from the previous year) and these should be searched for where open ground is close to its food-plants (being buckthorn or alder buckthorn).

The brown hairstreak is another August flier, continuing on the wing through September, but is much less common (and also declining) and is currently known from only a few sites in the county. Requiring blackthorn for breeding, this species inhabits woodland edges and rank hedgerow and spends much of its time in the high canopy, making it a difficult species to spot. However, a recently discovered colony has taken up residence in Oxford's own Long Close at Wood Farm, in an area of blackthorn planted up by local volunteers. Look for them also around Stanton St John, Swinbrook, Wideford, Noke, Fencott and Murcott, where individuals have all been recorded in recent years. They can also be seen at Bernwood Meadows.

A second brood of small copper takes flight in August and can be found all over the county in a wide range of grassland habitat types. It is a small but attractive butterfly that has a distinctive habit of attacking other insects that come close to their basking spots on the ground. Look out for this species at BBOWT's Sydlings Copse Nature Reserve near Headington. Other butterflies to look out for this month include brown argus, holly blue and gatekeeper.

Wherever you find yourself out and about in August, take time to look about and see what else is sharing and enjoying the high summer with you.

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