Response to 'Jackdaws and Insects'

Sun 29 Jun 2008, 19:29

I think Malcolm has put his finger on something important, but I don’t think it’s something that’s happened suddenly. There’s been a great deal of change in Charlbury’s ecosystems over the last ten or fifteen years. Much of that is just part of changing patterns, or the consequence of big events. Last Summer’s floods had a big impact – they took out a lot of nesting habitat between the Dyer’s Hill bridge and the rail bridge over the river, towards the sewage farm, and scoured out all the water lilies along that stretch. There are still jackdaws about, but the big commuter flight to feeding grounds in the morning and evening has changed, probably because the feeding grounds have changed.

However, it is possible to note several significant changes that do need some explanation, and which may well be warning signs, as Malcolm suggests.

The positives – again, we’re looking back over perhaps fifteen years here.

The buzzards have recovered – quite common, now. Interesting to see how they will co-exist with the red kites.
Foxes in Charlbury – quite a lively population in the centre / West of the town. Not necessarily a Good Thing.
Deer. It would be perfectly possible to see Red, Roe, Fallow, Sika and Muntjac in the same day, all within or within a mile of The Bull.
Badgers. Plenty of road kill evidence to suggest a significant population.
Rats. Plenty of bold rats, strong swimmers, anywhere by the river.
Small rodents – enough in the Mill Field to keep the Barn Owl going.
Grass snakes. There seem to be several in the West of the town, probably because of the proliferation of frogs. There are healthy common newt colonies, too, probably for the same reason. Not so sure about the toads. Slow worms? Some strong populations, but at risk.
There might just be an otter in the Mill Cut, now and then.

The negatives – this is where it gets worrying.

Ladybirds – hardly any.
Dragonflies. Normally there are three or four species in our garden. This year, no big ones at all, though the smaller red-bodied ones are plentiful. No damsel flies, usually prolific.
Hedgehogs. Haven’t seen one for two years – there used to be families.
Thrushes. One or two where there were seven or eight.
Blackbirds. Trying hard, but their breeding has been badly disrupted by hunting cats.
Water Voles. Ten years ago there was a healthy colony at the bottom of Pound Hill. Haven’t seen one for five or six years.
Crayfish. Many, many of the fungally infected American variety, but I’ve never seen a native crayfish here.
Cuckoos (this may not be Charlbury’s problem, as they’re migratory). Very few this year and last year – many more prior to that.
Fish. (I’m happy to be corrected by Charlbury anglers here) – there are no pike where you’d expect to see them, and the chub, when you see them, are smaller and fewer.
Freshwater mussels. Large numbers were removed when the Mill Cut was last cleaned out – have they recovered?
Flycatchers. We used to have a couple – none now. Treecreepers are still around, but rare, Haven’t seen a nuthatch since the early 80s. Not so many long-tailed tits, either.
Hawk Moths – they used to be fairly common, but not now. (What is the justification for having a blue light insect killer outside your back door?)
Ghost moths and those inch-wide delta-winged buff jobs – usually there are four or five in the house at this time of year, but none so far.

I think there is something that Charlbury can do about this, but it would need concerted action. It’s the sort of thing that might bring this forum together, behind a common cause. (Brilliant project for the Primary School)

The Mill Field is an ecological desert. There’s precious little biodiversity there – very few grass species; a predominance of nettles, hemlock, and the odd bit of stray oilseed rape, but really there’s not much going on there. That’s odd, if you look at the biodiversity of Watery Lane, immediately neighbouring it. It’s botanically quite rich, and it also has stoats, weasels and toads. It’s even more odd if you look at the grassland between Watery Lane and the Chippy road, which has a truly remarkable range and variety of plant life – I think one field, towards the Spelsbury end, has very rare grasses, and it might even be an SSI. This is all going on a stone’s throw away from the Mill Field. Would it help if were grazed, rather than mown?

I think one challenge for Charlbury would be to revitalise the Mill Field. It’s a big area. It’s more or less a flood meadow, so it ought to be fertile. It could support enormously diverse plant life, and therefore enormously diverse insect life, and become part of a prolific food chain. I don’t have the expertise to suggest how this might be done, but BBONT would know, if consulted. It’s in the Town Council’s care – would they like to have something more interesting, more valuable, more likely to ensure the future of wildlife than what they have at the moment? It’s becoming increasingly like a municipal park.

What about our gardens? Can the Horticultural Society advise?

Back to the Mill Field. What green commitment would it show to plant it with biomass, as a source of income via the sale of fuel for electricity generation? Thanks to the existing works for the old mill, it’s also a ready-made source of hydroelectricity – quite a steep initial investment, perhaps, but a potentially useful long-term investment for the Town Council. Possibly not entierly incompatibel with fostering wildlife.

I don’t think that Malcolm and I would necessarily agree about very much, if we were to meet in the pub, but I can easily find common cause with him in this area.