As well as scything and raking the #SSSI, we spent some time at the southern end of the Valley spreading seed in an area of fen still being restored. We spread Ragged Robin, Angelica, Devil’s-bit Scabious, Greater Bird's-foot Trefoil, and some Grass-of-Parnassus. #OxfordshireFens

Look closely! We found this tiny (golf ball size) nest this morning, almost certainly made by a Harvest Mouse (Micromys minutus). It was inside a black bin bag holding Marsh Lousewort seed. The nest's made of grass and shredded black plastic! 🐭🤣 #MakeTheMostOfWhatYouveGot

ADVANCED NOTICE We will no longer be posting to this account after 31st December 2024. We have already moved to where the Sky is Blue. We'd love it if you joined us there! Same user name as here. #OxfordshireFens #RarePlants #GreenSpace #Sunset

Silky Snails (Ashfordia granulata) were first recorded in the Lye Valley in 1857. We've searched for it many times since, without success. Until a post-grad looking for the alien Girdled Snail (Hygromia cinctella) came across three under one of our reptile mats! 😍 #gastropods

Scything and raking have reinvigorated the Valley. By reducing tall, dense reed, we've brought so many rare and threatened plants back, some recorded in the mid 17th century. Here, one of our most skilled scythers is working on the east side of the Valley.

Another busy week for our volunteers. Having cleared the #SSSI fen on the east side, we're making good progress on the west side. Here scything an area ready to be spread with the last of our hemi-parasitic Marsh Lousewort to weaken the reed and rush. #OxfordshireFens

Very little storm damage in the Lye Valley thankfully, though this Crack Willow has lost a limb. Fortunately, it just missed an area where we'd just planted the nationally Rare Creeping Marshwort (Helosciadium repens)! #StormDarragh

It's the Loosestrife Lady! We spotted some Purple Loosestrife seed heads which hadn't been collected, and which were in an area about to be scythed off. Needless to say, they were harvested! #OxfordshireFens #WasteNotWantNot

Parts of the east side of the Valley are slowly drying out. Here we're embedding boards into the fen to try to keep what water we do have on the fen. We're hoping to get a grant to buy enough boards to do this the whole length of the east side. Fingers crossed! #OxfordshireFens

Long-stalked Yellow-sedge (Carex lepidocarpa) is widespread, though less common in the south, and is a rare plant in Oxon. We're one of the few sites where it thrives. We've been digging up clumps where it does particularly well, and moving them nearer the boardwalk. #Fens

To celebrate the brief appearance of the sun today, here's an archive photo of the Lye Valley with a winter sunset for your enjoyment. 😊 #OxfordshireFens #landscape #sunset

Great initiative from the City & County Council and Thames Water. Free water butts for households in the catchment area for the storm drain that goes into the Lye Valley. Aim is to reduce flooding, and the volume of water getting to the Lye Valley Brook where it damages our peat.

Our scything team are making great progress in cutting the old vegetation on the #SSSI fen. Just as well since they've got the next two weeks off for Christmas and New Year! #OxfordshireFens

Today's news from Defra UK of imminent ban on neonics is very welcome, and congrats to Steve Reed & Minister Emma Hardy MP for taking this long-overdue step It's essential no so-called "emergency" authorisations are granted before the law changes! bbc.com/news/articles/…

We spread the last of our Marsh Lousewort (Pedicularis palustris) this week in an area of the SSSI where we're trying to reduce dense rush (Juncus spp.). If you want to learn more about how this plant helps in #FenRestoration, see freshwaterhabitats.b-cdn.net/app/uploads/20… #OxfordshireFens

A bumper year for the Vulnerable Brown Hairstreak (Thecla betulae) butterfly here in the Valley. A recent search yielded an amazing 51 eggs, edging close to the record 58 from 4 years ago!

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it, and Season's Greetings to those who don't! Much too mild today for snow, so here's a photo from the archive.

Bog Pimpernel (Anagallis tenella) is more common in the west, but Scarce in Oxon. Ours reappeared from the seedbank after we started our #FenRestoration work, and removed the tall dense reed that had been there since at least the 1940s when grazing ceased. #WildFlowerHour #SSSI

For our last post on this site (see Pinned Tweet), we leave you with this view down the Valley from this morning shortly after sunrise. We'd like to thank you all for your support and interest in the past, and wish you all a peaceful New Year.