9 November 2022 FoLV were pleased to welcome Consultants from JBA Consulting, who are doing a hydro-geological study of the Valley. Also Tristan Carlyle, Ecology & Biodiversity Officer at Oxford City Council, Beccy Micklem, Principal Biodiversity Officer at Oxfordshire County Council, Adam Bows, Catchment Officer at the Freshwater Habitats Trust, and Officers from Natural England.
Tom Bedford's great photos of the Jack Snipe, Lymnocryptes minimus, taken on 14 December 2022, can be found on his blog post for 17 December, as well as a superb video taken that day by Jason Coppack showing its characteristic 'bobbing' movements. (Scroll down Tom's blog post to see that video.)
It was the 103rd species recorded for the site and Tom's own 100th species recorded there. Tweet 10 December 2022 by Tom Bedford:
'Sub-zero in the Lye Valley area this morning, but a surprising amount of breeding bird activity: singing Coal Tit, Goldcrest & Stock Doves, plus nest building Magpies! 40 species is a decent haul, inc my first December record of Blackcap'. |
23 November 2022
Bullingdon Centre re-build completion (see BBC article 28 Sept 2021). Judy planted a True Service tree, Sorbus domestica, to celebrate. It was grown from a pip from the tree in Cutteslowe Park. There are only two others in Oxford, both of them in the Botanic Garden. 13 October 2022
Friends of Lye Valley were delighted to welcome Professor Adrian Parker (Dept of Geology), Dr Ash Parton (Reader in Physical/ Environmental Geology) and students from Oxford Brookes University. They were there to take peat samples from an area of the fen about which little is known currently (at the southern end, just below the Churchill Hospital car park). Photos, with info in captions, are here. (Tweets) |
28 September 2022
Paola from the Fresh Water Habitats Trust, helped with planting out yellow loosestrife plants, grown from local seed, in the new fen restoration area downslope from the Churchill Hospital car park - see Judy's tweet 3 September 2022
The Valley's first wasp spider, Argiope bruennichi, of the late summer. Judy's comment: 'We've had them for the last couple of years [above - her photo taken in Aug. 2021] but they are still a stunning find. Are they affecting our native spiders by competition?' See 2022 photos in Judy's tweet. 26 July 2022 Judy led a walk in the Lye Valley for a group including Paola Perez, one of the Freshwater Habitats Trust's Freshwater Futures Trainees (seen on right of photo). For photos click here Details given in photo caption/ info pane
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More tweets by Judy Webb and Friends of Lye Valley
(Dates in blue font are links to the tweets) 3 November 2022 Earlier this autumn seed of the nationally Near Threatened (and Rare in Oxon) Parsley Water-dropwort, Oenanthe lachenalii, was collected. This week it was sown together with seed of Greater Bird's-foot Trefoil, Lotus pedunculatus, and yellow flag iris, Iris pseudacorus further down the valley and round our ponds. 1 November 2022 After heavy rain, road run-off from a large part of Headington is discharged at the head of the Valley. Our Leaky Dams raise the water level in the Brook, hold more water for longer, reducing the risk of flooding downstream, and the loss of peat through drying. 23 October 2022 Oxford Conservation Volunteers back again today. Despite a very wet start, they cut and raked areas on both sides of the valley under mostly warm sunshine. Their hard work was much appreciated by FoLV. 21 October 2022 Judy's tweet: The joy of seeing germination of a special rare plant. First tiny shoots of beautiful Broad-leaved Cotton-grass, Eriophorum latifolium. Very rare in Oxon. See collected in June, stored in fridge, sown in wet compost on 11 October sprouting by 20th - extraordinarily fast! For SSSI fen restoration near source of seed. 21 October 2022 Tweet by Tony Gillie: One of our volunteers patiently collecting Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) seeds this week. Much loved by bees and butterflies, we aim to increase numbers of this valuable plant at the southern end of the Valley. 20 October 2022 Judy's tweet: 'Recent work in the Lye Valley private South fen section of the SSSI with Oxford Conservation Volunteers in lovely autumn sunshine. Great work scything and raking and the biggest surprise - the number of field voles discovered'. One was moved to safety in a volunteer's hat. 14 October 2022 Judy tweeted 'A big thank-you to the Oxford City Council Thursday volunteers who spent yesterday morning with us. Armed with scythes and rakes they cut and cleared a suprisingly large area of our dry grassland at the head of the Valley' 16 September 2022 Creeping marshwort, introduced by Judy to the Valley in February (with permission) is doing well - good news, as the dry summer has made this a very poor year for the single patch on its native site of Port Meadow. Photos 16 Sept and 9 Feb 2022 are here 14 Sept 2022 Parsley Water-dropwort seeds were ready so volunteers were busy picking while others got on with regular scything, raking and moving arisings. Ponds were refilling after the drought, southern hawker dragonflies and common darters were back. 1 September 2022 The local Natural England team visited the valley to see the success of the restoration work carried out by volunteers and were given an explanation of what had been done by Rod d'Ayala, an expert in wetland manage-ment. Info and photos in Judy's tweet. 31 August 2022 Grass of Parnassus and Devil's-bit Scabious seed collection 20 August 2022 lovely young field vole found in the Valley by Judy 25 August 2022 Judy's tweet: 'Water mint Mentha aquatica - a common wetland plant, smells wonderful and the flowers are great nectar sources for insects. Friends of Lye Valley are increasing fen mint resource by pulling plants in some areas to plant out in newly-cleared fen areas with help from FHT trainees!' See Judy's photos here 25 August 2022 Judy's tweet: 'Water mint Mentha aquatica - a common wetland plant, smells wonderful and the flowers are great nectar sources for insects. Friends of Lye Valley are increasing fen mint resource by pulling plants in some areas to plant out in newly-cleared fen areas with help from FHT trainees!' See Judy's photos here 19 August 2022 Seed collection in full swing. This week, the slightly fiddly job of harvesting the seeds of Greater Bird's-foot Trefoil, Lotus pedunculatus. After drying, the seeds will be spread in other areas of the Valley. 11 August 2022 Female Dark Bush-cricket, Pholidoptera griseoaptera spotted in the fen It seems our dense reed is a nice cool and damp refuge for many insect species during the hottest part of each day at the moment. 22 July 2022 Banded burdock fly, Terellia Tussilaginis, spotted, and photographed, by Tony Gillie |