Iffley Meadows Nature Reserve

Above and below Iffley Lock on the LEFT west bank

Iffley Meadows Nature Reserve

Welcome to Iffley Meadows Nature Reserve.
These ancient wet meadows surrounded by the River Thames are one of the best places in the country to see drifts of snake's-head fritillary.
In spring, fritillaries erupt from the ground in their thousands forming patches of purple-chequered heads dotted with the occasional white flower and the more widespread dandelions and pink-white cuckoo-flower. Search beneath these showy flowers and you will find the tiny adder's-tongue fern, named after the shape of its fertile frond.
In summer, reed bunting, sedge warbler and Cetti's warbler can be found raising young among the reed fringed ditches that cross the site. The tall common meadow-rue with its dense head of yellow-green flowers is the last plant to bloom before the hay is cut in July and then cattle allowed to graze.
Winter rainfall floods the meadows, softens the soil, and so allows wading birds such as snipe to use their long thin bills to probe for earthworms and insect larvae. Look for this shy mottled-brown bird within the sedge-dominated grass.

Species

Adder's-tongue Fern,
Cowslip,
Cuckooflower,
Great Burnet,
Marsh-marigold,
Meadow Vetchling,
Pepper Saxifrage,
Ragged-Robin,
Snake's-head Fritillary,
Banded Demoiselle,
Orange-tip,
Cetti's Warbler,
Reed Bunting,
Sedge Warbler

Habitat: Grassland, Lowland meadow and pasture, Wetlands

Contact us: Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT)

Contact number: 01865 775476
Contact email: info@bbowt.org.uk