Another significant fly, with the fine Latin name Paracraspedothrix montivaga, has been recorded on Shotover, and comprises two females of a new species to Britain. Some time ago, Chris Raper of the Tachinid recording scheme, had looked through some of the Malaise trap residue that SW had accumulated in 2000, and from the ‘soup’ set aside a couple of curious fly specimens that didn’t fit the British key. It then transpired that these flies seem to be similar to a few other ‘unidentified’ specimens from 4 other sites in the south of England, and as often happens in these circumstances, the specimens were packed off to a European dipterist for inspection. Consequently, Shotover has been cited as a source of material in the publication that declares the species to be new to Britain.
Paracraspedothrix montivaga is locally frequent in much of Europe, and it is not possible to say for how long it has been established in Britain. This result follows on rather nicely from our Leiomyza birkheadi from Horspath Common in 2005 which (along with a few other specimens from other sites) was a new species to science.
Fungi - new species to Oxfordshire
We also have a fungus new to Oxfordshire, Daldinia varians, which was an excellent result from the SW fungus survey on Shotover with ecologist Rod d’Ayala. The little grey-black growth looks fairly similar to Daldinia concentrica, the well-known ‘King Alfred’s Cakes’ which is common on Ash trees. However, this Daldinia was on burnt dead gorse, which is partly why it attracted the extra attention.
Daldinia varians seems smaller and less spherical than D.concentrica, but a key character is that when split open it has a soft ‘gooey’ core. When D.concentrica is split it shows its concentric growth rings right to its dry centre.
Butterflies - new resident to Shotover
Data from the Brown Hairstreak egg hunting by David Redhead and the dedicated hunters of Upper Thames Branch of Butterfly Conservation has shown that this elusive butterfly is continuing to establish an expanded range. The number of eggs found around Shotover has been increasing steadily over the past five years and this autumn’s hunting has yielded 90 eggs. David is sure that the Shotover eggs will have been laid by butterflies hatched on Shotover, rather than pioneer females.
The greatest increases have been at Slade Camp and the hedgerows below Westhill Farm. The Blackthorn along The Plain has also made a good contribution.
Birds - new visitor to Shotover
Back in September a great noise of angry Crows and Magpies in Brasenose Wood pin-pointed the arrival of an exotic Owl, which presumably had escaped from a private aviary. At a distance it looked like a huge white cat sitting high in the tree, but it turned out to be a Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus).
Bats - new maternity roost found
As part of the Shotover Wildlife Woodland Ecology Programme covering Shotover’s secondary and ancient woodland, the SW Tree and Bat Teams are currently engaged in gaining a detailed appreciation of which individual trees could be in use as bat roosts. One of our Oaks has already been noted as hosting a bat maternity roost - which is great news.
This fascinating work has opened our eyes to a whole new way of interpreting and managing the habitat immediately surrounding these trees. As part of SW’s woodland management, and before embarking on our coppicing, we survey the trees for signs of bat usage. Trees with significant potential for bats are noted, and a buffer zone of minimal disturbance is left around the tree to maintain the woodland structure, shelter and humidity. This follows the Forestry Commission’s Good Practice Guidance resulting from the most recent changes in the legislation for legally protected species.
