Adopting a Local Patch: Eynsham Wood

The benefits of spending time in local green spaces are very well documented, particularly in relation to mental health and physical exercise (the former of which really cannot be overstated in my view). Having a local 'patch' which can be visited on a regular basis offers a unique opportunity to develop a sense of 'ownership' and pride in local green spaces, and can be an invaluable way of gathering information on local wildlife. Aided by the large amount of extra weekend time I have had over the past few months due to the Coronavirus lockdown, I finally decided to establish a 'patch' of my own to experience these benefits for myself. As a lifelong wildlife enthusiast, and professional Ecologist, I really wanted to explore my local area further and record as many of the species present here as possible.

My 'patch' is located north of the village of Eynsham in Oxfordshire. Eynsham is located between the city of Oxford (5 miles to the south-east), and the town of Witney (5 miles to the west). The patch is approximately 33 hectares in size. The A40 road runs along the southern boundary, and the landscape to the north is dominated by arable farmland.

In many ways this patch is a relatively unremarkable site, and very typical of a lowland Britain landscape, dominated by arable farmland and sheep pasture. None of the habitats present are particularly rare, but regardless there is a mosaic of different habitat types, with areas of woodland, old hedgerows, and a couple of seasonally wet depressions which provide some interesting micro-habitats in the winter. There are no permanent wetland habitats, or areas of species-rich grassland. Crucially however, it is within 5 minutes walking distance from my house (I was very keen to make sure that my local patch didn't involve getting in a car; something I do far too much for my current job). There are also various Public Rights of Way and permitted footpaths throughout the site which allow easy access (see Image 1 below for a plan of the area). . 

Image 1: A plan of my patch, showing typical walking route and habitats of interest

Features of interest

Eynsham Wood: In the south-west of the site is Eynsham Wood, an area of plantation woodland managed by the Woodland Trust which was planted in 2000 in a field which was previously under management as arable farmland. It features a good mixture of native broadleaved species including ash Fraxinus excelsior, silver birch Betula pendula, alder Alnus glutinosa, hazel Corylus avellana, hawthorn Crataegus monogyna and blackthorn Prunus spinosa. There is a network of footpaths set within grassy rides throughout the woodland, the widest of which is in the north of the woodland, running north-west to south-east. The woodland is regularly accessed by dog walkers from Eynsham. 

Image 2: Grassy ride in the north of Eynsham Wood, with scrub encroachment on each side

The planting density of the trees is fairly high, and is likely to be limiting the potential for the woodland to develop a good understorey and ground flora due to overshading. Scrub encroachment, particuarly from bramble Rubus fruticosus is slowly reducing the extent of the grassy rides, which is likely to be detrimental to invertebrates (e.g. butterflies and moths), small mammal species such as harvest mouse Micromys minutus, and reptiles which may be present in the area. The 2019-2024 management plan for the site does indicate that canopy thinning and coppicing will occur on a rotational basis, but evidence of such management is not particularly evident at the time of writing. The grassy rides would also benefit from the presence of a few small ponds to offer breeding habitat for invertebrates and amphibians.  

The dense areas of blackthorn, hazel, hawthorn and bramble scrub do however provide excellent nesting cover and fruiting resources for certain bird species, notably bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula, dunnock Prunella modularis, song thrush Turdus philomelos and various warblers such as chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita, blackcap Sylvia atricapilla and whitethroat Sylvia communis. The woodland is not yet old enough to offer year-round habitat for species which favour mature woodlands, such as nuthatch Sitta europaea, treecreeper Certhia familiaris and marsh tit Poecile palustris. Species such as green woodpecker Picus viridis are likely to become increasingly less common if the grassy rides continue to become encroached by scrub.

Hedgerows: The hedgerows within the site are mixed in their biodiversity value. The parallel hedgerows which run either side of the bridleway through the centre of the site, and along the northern boundary, are old (some trees are visible from aerial imagery from 1945 on Google Earth). They likely offer important habitat connectivity with the wider landscape, and the mature trees themselves offer good habitat for a range of bird species and probably roosting bats too. The hedgerow around the northern and eastern boundaries of Field 3 is relatively unmanaged and is therefore also of high wildlife value. The hedgerow running along the eastern boundaries of Fields 4 and 5 however are in very poor condition, with a very gappy base likely caused by overgrazing by sheep and a heavily managed canopy which appears to be flailed regularly.  

Extensively managed farmland: Whilst the sheep pasture field in the west of the site (Field 1), and the fallow pasture field in the north of the site (Field 2) are improved grassland with relatively limited species diversity, the fields in the centre and east of the site (Fields 3-5) offer more wildlife interest. Field 3 appears to have been left unmanaged as rough grassland for some time (though this field is not easily viewable from the public bridleway). Field 4 (pictured in Image 2 below) is currently fallow (possibly for up to three years according to aerial imagery) and has developed a good area of rough grassland and tall ruderal habitats which offer good habitat for small mammals (and therefore good foraging grounds for raptors including barn owl Tyto alba). The area also offers good ground nesting bird habitat for species such as skylark Arlauda arvensis. Field 5 is currently under managament as an arable field, but over the 2020/21 winter has been left as overwinter stubble, benefitting good numbers of farmland birds, notably yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella.

Image 3: Field 4, currently fallow with rough grassland

Future development

The site will be the location of the major new Salt Cross Garden Village (currently at the outline planning stage). This settlement will essentially more than double the size of Eynsham on the south of the A40. Although a detailed masterplan is not yet available, the development is likely to result in the loss of most of the farmed areas of the site. One indicative 'artist's interpretation' style masterplan seemed to indicate that there could be a green belt of habitat creation at the southern boundary of Field 1, extending east from Eynsham Wood and connecting with the central hedgerows either side of the bridleway. From experience as an ecological consultant, the old bridleway hedgerow is very likely to classify as 'Important' under the Hedgerow Regulations, and I would be very surprised if this is lost to the development. Eynsham Wood will also be retained.

The loss of the farmland in the east of the site however will however unfortunately result in the loss of some habitats of biodiversity value (valuable due to the current farmland management of these areas, which is rather extensive rather than intensive). It is possible that some form of mitigation will be in place for skylark, barn owl and yellowhammer, but whether this is sufficient remains to be seen. 

I am curious to see how my local patch observations will change over the years, pre and post-development. One of my criticisms of the ecological consultancy profession is that post-development monitoring is not even close to where it needs to be, and doesn't allow us to really gauge whether the mitigation and enhancement recommendations provided in reports are actually delivered and provide the desired outcome. 

Recording my sightings

I have been visiting my patch on a roughly weekly basis since the new year, and hope to continue this throughout 2021 and beyond. I usually follow the route outlined in Image 1 and have been keeping records of wildlife sightings on each visit (particularly birds), and have begun inputting these into a (very nerdy) spreadsheet, which will hopefully grow and develop over time. I hope to use the spreadsheet not only for species list records (by season, month or year), but also as a record of the first seasonal sightings of certain species or events (e.g. summer migrant birds, first emergence of butterfly species, blossom emergence dates). 

I will hopefully share some of these notable records and observations on this blog. In more simple terms, I suppose my goal is for this blog to be an informal personal record of my life through local wildlife experiences, and I hope anyone who stumbles across it will find something that interests or inspires them.