We want to know what species are present in our parish and where they are. To find out, we will be doing some organised surveys, but also we want to encourage everyone to record what they see.
We have chosen 20 species that we are especially interested in knowing more about and we are making the reporting of these as easy as possible.
We are offering two methods for reporting sightings. The easiest, which can be used for our ’20 Selected Species’ is via our website form below
The other method is via iRecord which requires more detail but goes directly to a national biological recording system that we can retrieve data from - but you’ll need to add our activity code when you fill in the form.
Dragonfly walk
Image courtesy of John Lindley
riverbank & private gardens dragonfly walk
South Stoke Dragonfly Walk (riverbank and private gardens)
When: Saturday 4th September (limited spaces available)
Time: 10am
Where: South Stoke slipway
Who: the walk will be led by John Lindley
Late Summer is the best time of year to see our bigger Dragonfly species, and these will be the target of our walk. We will start from the Slipway, and head up the footpath towards the Four Arches bridge. We should see Southern Hawkers and Migrant Hawkers, and possibly some late Damselflies. We'll then move on to Lower Farm with its large and nature-rich wildlife pond, where we should see Brown Hawkers, and also Common Darters, and Ruddy Darters with their bright red bodies. We'll also be keeping an eye open for Small Red-eyed Damselflies and Willow Emerald Damselflies, two species which are currently expanding their range westwards into Oxfordshire. Throughout the walk, we'll also be looking out for Butterflies and other insects.
The walk will take approximately 2 hours, and we'll be walking over rough ground and damp areas, so appropriate footwear is important. All ages and levels of knowledge are welcome, but good behaviour from small ones will be appreciated, especially when we're on private property. As always with such events, we can't guarantee what we'll see, so an element of patience and forbearance will help. We'll be going at a gentle pace, so there will be plenty of opportunity to take photos and discuss what we see.