So far this spring, Nicola Devine has photographed seven varieties of odonata on the Trap Grounds -- damselflies: the Large Red, the Blue-Tailed, the Azure, and a rare female blue form of the Azure; and dragonflies: the Hairy, the Broad-Bodied Chaser, and the Downy Emerald. Her photo of the Downy Emerald (see below) is the first-ever record on the Trap Grounds, bringing our confirmed total of odonata to 21 (out of 33 known species in Oxfordshire).

Azure damselflies mating (21 May 2020, Nicola Devine)

Hairy Dragonfly (male), 14 May 2020 (Nicola Devine)

Broad-bodied Chaser (female), 20 May 2020 (Nicola Devine)

Downy Emerald dragonfly (23 May 2020, Nicola Devine)

Large Red damselfly, 20 April 2020 (Nicola Devine)

Blue-tailed damselfly (violacea form), 17 May 2020 (Nicola Devine)

Azure damselfly (female blue form) (Nicola Devine, 17 May 2020)

Another Weasel! Or the same one that Nicola Devine photographed on 10 March, this time caught on camera in a different area of the Trap Grounds on 15 April.

Weasel, Trap Grounds, 15/04/2020 (Nicola Devine)

Nicola Devine's intimate portrait of a Chiffchaff, encountered in the woodland on 9 April.

Chiffchaff, Trap Grounds, 09/04/2020 (Nicola Devine)

BREAKFAST FOR A HERON
Ben Atwell (aged 10) got this close up to a hungry Heron in the Trap Grounds on 22 March.

Trap Grounds, 22 March 2020 (Ben Atwell)

THE FIRST-EVER PHOTO OF A WEASEL ON THE TRAP GROUNDS

Nicola Devine's extraordinary photo confirms the long-suspected presence of at least one Weasel on the Trap Grounds.

Weasel, Trap Grounds, 11 March 2020 ( Nicola Devine)

SPARROWHAWK
Caught on Nicola's camera: a magnificent Sparrowhawk, just minutes after mating in a tall tree on the Trap Grounds.

Sparrowhawk, Trap Grounds (Nicola Devine, 7 March 2020)

A NEW FUNGUS

Nicola photographed this grisly-looking (and poisonous) False Morel (Gyromitra esculenta) on 20 March.

False Morel (Nicola Devine, Trap Grounds, 20 March 2020)

Lots of frogs spawning at Frog Lane!

Kingfishers are making a welcome return to the TG, after what seems like a long absence. A pair have been seen on several occasions in the past ten days. And three at once on one occasion.

Male kingfisher, Trap Grounds, 19 February 2020 (Nicola Devine)

Our resident birds are sprucing themselves up, ready for mating.

Robin, Trap Grounds (N. Devine, 1 March 2020)

Signs of spring at the Trap Grounds today.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Nicola has been photographing patterns on the TG recently. Can anyone identify any of these lichens?

Linda Losito managed to identify this fungus as 'Witches' Butter' (Tremella mesenterica), previously recorded on Shotover and at Radley Lakes.

Buzzard up to no good

This handsome (but not entirely welcome) Buzzard, photographed by Nicola Devine, was hanging around the Trap Grounds for long periods on 29 and 30 January, to the dismay of the smaller birds.

Buzzard, Trap Grounds, 29 January 2020 (Nicola Devine)

Nicola Devine found this rare slime mould on the Trap Grounds on 25 January 2020. Only 5 previous records of Badhamia utricularis in Oxfordshire in the last 100 years, and only 2 records in the last 40 years, both around Shotover. Rufus the Frog Lane robin obligingly posed for the photo, to give an idea of the scale of the mould.

Badhamia utricularis (a slime mould), Trap Grounds 25.1.2020, Nicola Devine

Clare Weiner writes: This morning a Jay did a fly-past for us, showing off its beautiful pink and blue feathers, then hopped about in the grass feeding. We also saw the first snowdrops flowering in a sheltered spot beside the boardwalk (many more to follow in other places), and the Coltsfoot in Polly’s Glade and the Butterbur near the Bird Hide are both starting to push up through the earth.

Jay (Clare Weiner, Trap Grounds, 18 January 2020)

First snowdrops of the year (Clare Weiner, Trap Grounds 18 January 2020)

Access to the Trap Grounds from the canal towpath is still denied while the resurfacing work continues. But Nicola has taken some lovely photos of Reed Buntings in the wildlife corridor immediately to the north of our site.

Reed Bunting, Waterways wildlife corridor, 30.12.19 (Nicola Devine)

NEW YEAR'S DAY 2020

Winter Heliotrope in flower

Clare Weiner writes: We spotted Winter Heliotrope flowering beside the path to the Bird Hide from the Boardwalk today - the first signs of flowers in the Trap Grounds this year! This plant, which grows in damp meadows and woodland, can be confused with the Butterbur, which also grows in profusion on the TG in a similar location. The Winter Heliotrope's purple/mauve flowers (they have a vanilla scent) grow on a long stalk, and are surrounded by the distinctly rounded leaves. By contrast, the Butterbur flowers appear before the leaves, in a tight, slightly cone-shaped cluster on a short thick stalk, and are unscented, white tinged with purple.

Winter Heliotrope (Clare Weiner, 1 January 2020)

NEW YEAR'S DAY 2020

Resurfacing work on the towpath has restricted our access to the Trap Grounds for nearly 8 weeks, but Nicola managed to get in via the back entrance today and was pleased to be greeted by Rufus, the Frog Lane robin, and by a member of 'The Welcoming Committee' consisting of Hedge Sparrows who shelter in the brambles at the east end of Frog Lane.

Sparrow, Frog Lane, New Year's Day 2020 (Nicola Devine)

Rufus, the Frog Lane robin, New Year's Day 2020 (Nicola Devine)