Management discussions – 14th October 2009

Every 6 months I have a walk round the site with Martyn Lane, the BBOWT Oxfordshire Reserve Manager and my main contact within the Trust. The aim is to look over the site and make decisions on which work will be done in the next 6-12 months. It’s also a good opportunity for each of us to catch us and exchange news that relates to the site and generally take a look at how everything is doing up there.

The day was superb – gloriously warm and sunny – and the walk round was very pleasant – marred only by the fact that I forgot to take my camera so I have no photos!! Harlequin ladybirds were swarming in huge numbers at the tops of the hills but it didn’t matter where you stood on the site, we were brushing them off our clothes and faces the whole time.

Despite it being very late in the season I took my net and managed to catch quite a few tachinid flies: Tachina fera (one of the commonest and most easily seen summer tachinids), Eumea linearicornis (a late-season species) & Sturmia bella (a parasitoid of Small Tortoishell and other vanesids).

We decided in the end to continue work in slope 5 but also to reduce the height of scrub at the base of slope 3, where we did some work last winter. If there is any time after that we will try to clear around the edge of the orchid slope in readiness for a large project to replace and extend the rabbit netting. 🙂