Page 10 - Wildlife News April 2015

dMeleivaedrsow Farm The medieval ridge-
and-furrow awash with

meadow buttercups
(Colin Williams)

Black hairstreak on narrow-leaved water-dropwort Last year BBOWT purchased the spectacular
(Jan Deacon) suite of meadows at Meadow Farm. One
10 year on and the project that’s followed is
beginning to deliver real results for both
wildlife and people, as Upper Ray Living
Landscape Manager Cathie Hasler explains
Meadow Farm is a
stunning 28ha of nutrients being removed
medieval meadows offsite in the form of hay,
the meadow would become

bordering the River Ray near dominated by grasses that

Bicester. Its distinctive ridge- would displace the more

and-furrow fields are home delicate wild flowers. Grazing

one of the country’s rarest follows the hay cut and also

wild plants, the true fox-sedge, helps to control grasses and

and many others that are invading scrub.

declining, such as the narrow- Meadow Farm forms part of

leaved water-dropwort. In the wider Upper Ray Meadows,

early summer the ridges a series of hay meadow and

are awash with the vivid wet grassland reserves along

yellow of meadow buttercup the A41 between Bicester

and the furrows full of pink and Aylesbury. BBOWT owns

cuckooflower. These meadows and manages this precious

are incredibly diverse and in habitat, home to increasingly

full bloom are an indulgent scarce waders such as lapwing

feast for the senses. and curlew, fragile plant

The meadows are communities and nationally

maintained by a traditional declining insects like the

midsummer hay cut. Without forester moth.

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