Districts:
South Oxfordshire Parishes
Nuneham Courtenay
The following wildlife habitats fall within this parish. They are listed according to their associated landscape type or local character area.
If you want more information about any of the sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) listed below, take a look at English Nature's Nature on the Map website. It may also be possible to find out a bit more about the unnamed wildlife habitats in the parish by contacting the Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (owls@oxfordshire.gov.uk) and quoting the site code next to the habitat description.
The majority of these wildlife habitats are on private land and access to them is not possible without permission of the landowner, unless there is a statutory right of way. However, many wildlife habitats in the county are open to the public. More information on these can be obtained from the Oxfordshire Nature Conservation Forum.
Wildlife Habitats
River Meadowlands
Site Code: 50F08
Area: 8.25ha
This riverside hay meadow has escaped agricultural improvement through the use of herbicides and fertilizer or through ploughing and reseeding. Consequently it is rich in meadowland wildflowers. Such meadows are a national priority for nature conservation.
The meadow has thousands of the rare snake’s-head fritillary. This colourful springtime flower is found mainly in a handful of meadows in the Upper Thames Valley. Other wildflowers include great burnet, devil’s-bit scabious, cowslip and ragged robin. Amongst a good variety of birds using the hedgerows are bullfinch and song thrush, which are both national priority species due to the significant declines in their populations.
Wooded Estatelands
Site Code: 59I05
Area: 17.8ha
This is an area of old long established broadleaved woodland with a canopy of oak and ash trees. It is particularly important for the presence of a heronry. Herons nest in communal sites called heronries and this is the most important site in the Upper Thames Valley. There are very few heronries and each site will have a significant part of the local population. About half the Oxfordshire population nests here.
This wood has the typical composition of old woodland with native trees and shrubs and woodland wildflowers including an abundance of bluebells and dog’s mercury. This type of woodland is a national priority for nature conservation.