£230K wildlife habitat boost with rare birds in Buckinghamshire

The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) is creating a bespoke habitat on the nature reserve, near Marsh Gibbon on the Bucks and Oxfordshire border.

Thanks to a grant from the FCC Communities Foundation, the site will also become more visitor-friendly with educational display boards.

Other ground-nesting birds such as skylarks, meadow pipits and yellow wagtails will also benefit from the project.

BBOWT Land Manager, Mark Vallance, explained the plight of the curlew: "Over the past hundred years, the number of curlew has plummeted, and they are now on the conservation red list.

"BBOWT has pledged to create more nature across our region benefiting wildlife, people and climate."

Initial work involves creating 30 new 'scrapes' – feeding and bathing pools suitable for curlews and other birds like wigeon, teal, snipe and golden plover.

The wide-ranging habitat will also attract beneficial insects including dragonflies.

Later work stages involve drastic hedgerow reduction to provide safer open areas for curlews and encourage the nesting of one of Britain's rarest butterflies – the brown hairstreak.

These changes will ultimately provide a safer breeding environment for curlews, whose numbers have been dwindling due to predation.