Econet
~~~
CRoW
(Conserve Reading
on Wednesdays)

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Friends of
Clayfield Copse

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Friends of
Mapledurham Playing Fields

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Friends of
McIlroy Park

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Friends of
Reading Old Cemetery

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Friends of
Ruscombe Wood

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Friends of
Waterloo Meadows

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Reading Urban
Wildlife

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Friends of Clayfield Copse

Clayfield Copse and Blackhouse Wood are located on the northern outskirts of Reading, on the Berkshire and Oxfordshire border, and consist of open meadows and native woodland. Some of the woodland is actively managed as hazel coppice whilst the meadows include areas of wild flowers and regenerating woodland. In 1991 the site became Reading's first local nature reserve and in part is designated as ancient woodland containing service trees, wild pear, bluebells, common orchids, wood anemones, etc..

Approximately eight hectares in size, the site is the only outcrop of London Clay north of the Thames River in Reading and makes up the southern tip of the Chilterns.

Isolated specimens of cedar and Scots pine date back to the time when the site was part of Caversham Park - the mansion house is now home to the BBC world wide monitoring station. (In the storm of 1990, one of the mature cedars was blown over and shire horses were used to pull out the remains of the once mighty tree so as to minimise disturbance of the woodland floor.)

Formed in 1989, the 'Friends' organise monthly tasks on the 1st Sunday and the 3rd Monday of the month throughout the year, see Programme for further details.

Photographs from Clayfield Copse

Contact: Peter 07748 766 340. Alternatively, please contact us via the Contacts page.

Reading Borough Council Site Description

Natural England - Local Nature Reserve Designation

Where to find us:  Google

Tree Week Walk 2023
A self-guided walk
Sunday, 26th November to Monday, 4th December

The Route        The Trees

Clayfield's Bats
The work of the Berkshire & South Buckinghamshire Bat Group at Clayfield.

Dawn Chorus Birds

For the last fifteen years a Dawn Chorus walk has been held at Clayfield Copse on the first Sunday in May as part of International Dawn Chorus Day. The following are some of the birds that have been heard or seen on those walks.

Blackbird
Blackcap
Blue Tit
Bullfinch
Buzzard
Canada Goose
Carrion Crow
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Coal Tit
Dunnock
Firecrest
Garden Warbler
Goldcrest
Goldfinch
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit
Greenfinch
Green Woodpecker
Herring Gull
House Sparrow
Jackdaw
Jay
Long-tailed Tit
Magpie
Mallard
Mistle Thrush
Nuthatch
Pheasant
Red Kite
Robin
Skylark
Song Thrush
Starling
Swallow
Stock Dove
Tawny Owl
Treecreeper
Whitethroat
Wood Pigeon
Wren

Meadows Day
and some of the flowers you might see

Meadows Day is the latest of Econet's regular annual events. Held at Clayfield in July, it is a celebration of the hay meadows which were once so much part of our countryside supporting a vast array of plants, insects and other wildlife. The event includes guided walks and activities for children together with stalls from other local environment groups and is great opportunity to enjoy a picnic in a peaceful setting.


Cat's Ear

Common Birdsfoot Trefoil

Common Knapweed

Common Sorrel

Goatsbeard
or
Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon

Lesser Switchwort

Meadow Cranesbill

Oxeye Daisy

Red Clover

Yellow Rattle

Clayfield's meadow - a brief history

Originally part of House Farm, attached to Caversham Park. In 1800's Mr Crawshay kept his black cattle here and some of his iron fencing remains in places. Until the late 1900's the site was leased by Reding Borough Council as farmland.

This particular field was set aside for community use, it was called "The Show Field" and flower shows were held here. In 2015 Reading Borough Council prepared the soil and sowed a wildflower mix. Since then the Friends have added yellow rattle seeds, the yellow rattle plants are semi parasitic on grass roots making the grass weaker so that other flowers can get established more easily. Each year the meadow gets better for flowers, it will not be mown until August by when the flower seeds will have been shed.

Future Activities

Unless stated otherwise tasks are from 10:00 until 12:30. Meet at the Car Park, Caversham Park Road car park. A summary of current planned activities follows, for full details please visit our Programme.

Activity
Summary

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Monday
15th January 2024

10:00 - 12:30
Regular mid-month task

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Sunday
4th February 2024

10:00 - 12:30
Regular monthly task

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Monday
19th February 2024

10:00 - 12:30
Regular mid-month task

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Sunday
3rd March 2024

10:00 - 12:30
Regular monthly task

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Monday
18th March 2024

10:00 - 12:30
Regular mid-month task

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Sunday
7th April 2024

10:00 - 12:30
Regular monthly task

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Monday
15th April 2024

10:00 - 12:30
Regular mid-month task

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No new activities planned in the current programme

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