Wild Isles- Farming and Conservation in Oxfordshire
Did you see the incredible people farming for wildlife on the Grassland’s episode of Wild Isles? Nature friendly farming can help us bring back lost biodiversity across farmland landscapes. We’ve been working closely with farmers across England to help boost butterfly, bee and bird populations through farmland conservation methods and we practice Nature-Friendly Farming on our own reserves too.
What are the RSPB doing to help?
At RSPB Otmoor the RSPB manages 485 hectares of land on the Otmoor basin. There is a rich diversity of habitat, being made-up of mainly floodplain grazing marsh and important reedbed habitat. The reserve has species rich hay meadows, which are a habitat that have seen a steep decline in the UK. An optimal hay meadow habitat is the result of traditional, low intensity farming providing benefits such as a range of flowers and grass and nesting habitat for birds such as Curlew. Hawthorn and blackthorn hedgerows at RSPB Otmoor are always buzzing with life, drawing in insects like honeybees and butterflies and acting as a fantastic nesting site for birds. These hedgerows see butterfly surveying carried out, in partnership with Butterfly Conservation.
The grassland areas at RSPB Otmoor are managed using cattle who will graze the marsh creating the perfect conditions for breeding waders, including Lapwing, Redshank, Snipe and Curlew. it's a little surprising to know that grazed grassland has so many benefits for wildlife. The grazing of the cattle helps create perfect sward structure for ground nesting birds such as Lapwing which require short grass so the incubating parents can see predators approaching the nest.
RSPB Otmoor’s incredible hay meadows are cut just once a year and aftermath grazed by cattle This way of management helps create the optimal conditions for the abundance of rare flowers that can be found in the meadows, which in turn provides benefits to insects and birds. The team at RSPB Otmoor spend many hours during the hot summer months on tractors, preparing the site ready for the following spring. This work includes cutting the rougher areas of grassland, rotovating the edges of scrapes and ditches, which means churning up the soil, to provide bare soil which will help Lapwing chicks easily find insects to eat. The soil is also aerated to improve the soils structure, which in turn increases the number of earthworms, an essential food for Snipe.
credit: Colin Wilkinson (rspb-images.com)
What else is the RSPB doing to help?
Hedgerows are extremely important for wildlife, including farmland birds, and also provide the added benefit of being good for farm business, such as providing shelter for livestock and attracting pollinating insects. At RSPB Otmoor, volunteers dedicate hours to coppicing the blackthorn hedgerows which crisscross the reserve. These hedgerows are essential for the life cycle of the black and brown hairstreak butterflies. They lay their eggs on the blackthorn branches and the caterpillars will feed on the trees. In January, volunteers from Butterfly Conservation carry out surveys of the blackthorn hedges looking for the brown hairstreak eggs.
What are our volunteers/partners doing to help?
Nick Bowles, from the Butterfly Conservation, shares how butterfly and moth populations are monitored: “At Butterfly Conservation we monitor butterflies and moths using three main methods. These are standardised surveying, casual surveying and targeted surveying at sites threatened with loss of habitat.”
“These standardised methods allows us to directly compare sites over many years, or one site with another, to see the impacts of climate change, site management and so on.”
“Casual, non-standardised recording is a lot simpler. This is by people noting down whatever they see, wherever they are. These results will tell us a lot less about changes in the habitat or climate but a great deal about distribution.”
“We are able to advise on the health of these populations, as well as that of the many other organisms. This is because the data we collect tells us about the fundamental health of the habitat.”
“With that knowledge, and of knowing how sites are managed, we can give advice to restore and maintain healthy habitats.”
How can I help?
Together, we have the power to make a real difference to our grasslands and their precious wildlife- as shoppers, farmers, businesses and leaders. find out more about how buying Fair To Nature food products can help here
Let's pass our wild isles onto the next generation in better shape than we inherited them.