Who owns this, and what have they done?

A photo of a sign next to a pond and wildflowers, with trees in the background, saying: Developers see 'unused land'. Wildlife sees the last place to stay alive.

Yes, human use is not the only use - and all uses are interdependent.

A butterfly with reddish wings and large light coloured eye spots in its forewings, and dark eye spots on its hindwings is resting on a dense cluster of white blossom. It's facing upwards, and its antennae are clearly visible. The background is a kind of dreamy blurred range of whites and light grey.

A final post for @rina2012.bsky.social's #ButterflyWeek.
A Peacock (Inachis io) butterfly on Cherry Plum blossom in Oxford's Lye Valley.
#inverts #UKWildlife #photography #ECK
@friendlyevalley.bsky.social @upperthames.bsky.social

A rosette with fleshy bright green leaves which are roughly triangular in shape is emerging from very wet ground with traces of moss, dead reed stems, and some grass.

The first of our insectivorous Butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris) rosettes have just emerged. Perfectly adapted to life in low nutrient environments, its sticky leaves trap small insects and then digest them. 😊
#OxfordshireFens #CarnivorousPlants @bsbibotany.bsky.social @judywebb.bsky.social

Oh. Well perhaps worth keeping an eye on? It’s a very scarce plant, but perhaps putting in a reminder to look in maybe September to December?

Pedicularis palustris - Marsh Lousewort - Emorsgate Seeds £ / 1g : £5.00 £ / 10g : £47.50 £ / 100g :  --- £ / 1,000g :  --- £ / 10,000g :  ---

We use our own, but it looks like Emorsgate Seeds stock them wildseed.co.uk/product/spec...

Male Redstart

Male Redstart just visible in young oak leaves

Male Redstart on the ground of Warneford Meadow

The Holy Grail of urban birding in spring, a male Redstart, was on Warneford Meadow, Oxford, today. It has taken eight years, but was worth every moment this morning. It even burst into song on a couple of occasions, just magical!

@friendlyevalley.bsky.social
@patchbirding.bsky.social
#UKbirding

That does the same thing John?

🤣🤣

In the centre a small bright green plant with crinkled leaves has a roughly circular space around it with little else growing. Further away, there is a mass of dark green rush growing up.

Marsh Lousewort (Pedicularis palustris) is a biennial hemi-parasite that weakens reed, sedge and rush. Rare in Oxon and Vulnerable nationally, it's thriving here where we use it as a key part of our #FenRestoration work. Here a young plant is showing the halo effect of reduced growth around it.
🌰🌍

Meeting at Brookes' Headington Hill Hall campus on Wednesday 15 April 2026, 7–9pm to identify and discuss the green spaces in urban OX3 and to design a walk (followed by a walk on Saturday 18 April)

Sedge Warbler location in Warneford Meadow, Oxford, with the Churchill Hospital in the background.

An urban Sedge Warbler, singing on Warneford Meadow, Oxford, today was only the 3rd patch record and the 1st in 5 years! All records have been between 9th and 27th April, today’s bird being the earliest.

macaulaylibrary.org/asset/654556...

@friendlyevalley.bsky.social
@patchbirding.bsky.social

A small butterfly with orange tipped white wings is taking nectar from a plant with fresh green leaves and a tiny cluster of white flowers at the top. To the left another plant of the same kind. The background is diffuse green and black.

Lots of male Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines) butterflies patrolling the sunny banks of the Valley yesterday. A huge patch of Garlic Mustard proved to be a popular refuelling stop!
#UKWildlife #UKButterflies #OX3 #iRecorded
@savebutterflies.bsky.social @upperthames.bsky.social

A small lizard is emerging from the bark of an old log. Its tail and feet aren't visible. It's facing right and pointing slightly down. It's looking up as though at the camera, and its right eye is visible. There are some old bits of dead reed stems resting on the bark as well as a couple of thin pieces of dead stalk. To the left there are a few green leaves.

The unseasonably warm weather brought our Common Lizards (Zootoca vivipara) out this morning. The first we've seen so far this year! 🦎 😍
#reptiles #UKWildlife @arc-trust.bsky.social @judywebb.bsky.social @tverc1.bsky.social

A thin pale shiny coloured reptile (actually a legless lizard) is emerging from the cover of some grass into a bare stony area. It's moving from left to right, and its small eye is clearly visible.

Despite the low temperatures, one of our volunteers counted 16 Slow worms (Anguis fragilis) sheltering under our reptile mats yesterday. Four adults and twelve juveniles. Seems like a good start to the year!
#reptiles 🐍 [archive pic]
@arc-trust.bsky.social @judywebb.bsky.social

Sand Martin over Oxford

Sand Martin over Oxford

Sand Martin over Oxford

4 Sand Martin over Warneford Meadow, Oxford, this morning were only the 3rd Lye Valley area record & the first in 7 years! This is a rare bird in urban areas with no open water. A memorable way to mark my 900th patch visit to the Lye Valley!
@friendlyevalley.bsky.social
@patchbirding.bsky.social

83 species of #spiders ! and quite a few still to find from historic lists, we are not finished yet...

www.friendsoflyevalley.org.uk/about/Lye%20...

On the right a man in neutral coloured clothing is holding a large white "sweep net" with a short silver handle. He's surrounded by knee-high vegetation.

Headington Action kindly funded a survey of spiders and other invertebrates in the Valley. 506 invertebrate species in total, 83 species of spiders, one Nationally rare beetle, and seven Nationally Scarce other invertebrates. Link to report below.
#inverts @tverc1.bsky.social @judywebb.bsky.social

Just WOW!

eBird Checklist - 26 Mar 2026 - Lye Valley & Warneford Meadow - 39 species Submitted by Tom Bedford.

An amazing 3 minutes in the Lye Valley, Oxford this morning, as an OSPREY circled over the Churchill Hospital before flying north! 🤯

ebird.org/checklist/S3...
An incredible new species for the Lye Valley area!

@friendlyevalley.bsky.social
@patchbirding.bsky.social
@headingtonnews.bsky.social

A large colourful bird is facing to the right. Its body and wings are speckled in colours ranging from pale grey to a light golden yellow to a rich warm brown. The head is an iridescent green, and it has a white "collar" round its neck It also has a rounded flap of bright red skin surrounding the eye. It has a very long grey tail, most of which disappears off the left of the photo. It's standing on medium length grass, and there is a clump of Pendulous Sedge in the background.

For today's #BirdOfTheDay theme of #speckled I have this rather flamboyant male Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus). It had clearly escaped being shot "for sport", and was rather incongruously wandering round one of Oxford's urban green spaces.
#birds #ECK #UKWildlife #lucky #LyeValley 📷

Roughly centre a plant forms a clump with medium sized rounded leaves, a few open yellow flowers, and lots of tight buds showing yellow at their tops. It's growing in shallow water, and has a number Flag Iris growing behind it with tall thin green leaves. On the left are a number of still short "horsetails", with thin rounded stems and alternating light and darker strips, a prehistoric native plant.

More #SignsOfSpring here in the Valley, the first of our Marsh Marigolds (Caltha palustris) is just coming into flower! 😀
#WildFlowerHour #OxfordshireFens
@judywebb.bsky.social

A large duck standing on one leg facing left but head and beak angled slightly towards the camera. Its broad beak is yellow, and it has an iridescent green head and upper neck, a chocolate brown lower neck and chest. Its wings are a mixture of greys and browns with a wide blue flash. The body is a very pale grey, and its one visible leg is orange. The tail is green, and has a couple of small feather that curl up and round. The background is mostly green grass, with a few dead stalks mixed in.

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #tricolour, birds with three colours or more and an alt of #YearRound birds. I rarely photograph Mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) — familiarity breeds contempt maybe — but here's one from Oxford's #LyeValley fen that fits both themes.
#birds #ECK #UKWildlife

Four gold and black caterpillars are visible. Two just left and below centre, one on the right about centre, and one just above centre. They're on green leaves that have had holes eaten out of them.

A roughly triangle shaped moth is resting on the ground facing let and slightly down. It has its wings slightly open showing off the scarlet hind wings after which it is named. The upper wings are black with yellow and white blotches on them.

We've got good numbers of Scarlet Tiger (Callimorpha dominula) moth caterpillars on Comfrey plants in the Peat Moors entrance to the Valley at the moment. Looking forward to seeing the colourful adults later in the year!
#inverts #TeamMoth #UKWildlife #NaturePhotography @judywebb.bsky.social

Nah, much too wiggly for soil! 🤣

A photo looking down into shallow water with a mass of tiny dark tadpoles. There are a few bits of green vegetation as well.

We've got tadpoles! Hundreds of tadpoles! Quite appropriate for #WorldFrogDay! 🐸
#UKWildlife #amphibians #nature #PondWatch
@judywebb.bsky.social @freshwaterhabitats.bsky.social

A large reddish coloured butterfly with blue and yellow "eyes" on its wings is resting amongst small white flowers on thin twigs. It's pointing downwards facing towards the bottom left corner of the photo.

A Peacock (Aglais io) butterfly refuelling on Blackthorn blossom in the warm Spring sunshine. 😍
#inverts #UKWildlife #SignsOfSpring #BlossomWatch
@upperthames.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social @judywebb.bsky.social

A light brown butterfly with white vertical markings on the wing with what looks like a small "tail" at the back. It's feeding on an open bramble flower.

One of our volunteers finished counting the eggs of the scarce Brown Hairstreak butterfly in the Valley this week, and the total for 2025 is 37 eggs, a little down on last year's total. Anyone know if this is in line with national trends? 🤔
#inverts #UKWildlife @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Thanks for tagging us @emilykerr36.bsky.social. Yes, fens in general, and the Lye Valley in particular are huge (and often overlooked carbon stores). Right here in East Oxford. We should all resist plans that may compromise it!
@judywebb.bsky.social