Next Repair Cafe 6th July 2022

Who will be at the Repair Cafe? We have a team of sewing repairers, electrical and mechanical repairers, leather repairer, general DIY repairers and wood work repairers. Could any of them help you?

Donkey Lane Community Orchard - Bird found in and around the Orchard

There is a very diverse range of wildlife and plant life in and around the orchard site. The area sits to the North-East edge of the village of Chinnor, over the railway lines, adjacent to agricultural land all the way up to the Ridgeway Path but below the designated Green Belt Area on the Chilterns and particularly Chinnor Hill. The Ridgeway path runs NE to SW which is a part of the Chiltern Escarpment and runs along the foot of Chinnor Hill. The Chilterns are part of the layer of chalk covering most of East and South East of England. Many species of flora and fauna favour chalky soil.

One of the most plentiful inhabitants of the orchard are birds. Over the years there will have been a huge range of birds but owing to a vast array of changes in human occupation, agricultural methods, introduction of non native species and not to mention climate change there will have been massive changes in the bird population in and around the orchard. Over the last 35 years some 38 or more species have been observed coming and going.

The chalky soil supports many plants favoured by our local bird population. Our recently planted boundary hedge features Cornelian Cherry, Dogwood, Guelder Rose and Hawthorn, all bearing tasty berries in the autumn. In addition, there are many brambles in the perimeter which not only provide berries for birds and other wildlife to eat but also robins, wrens, thrush, blackbirds, warblers and finches will nest in it as it provides protection from predators. We are working hard to build safe habitats in the orchard, particularly in the perimeter of the plot.

There were obvious habitat changes in the orchard since it was inhabited going from wild to domestic. It is also most likely that the occupants of the cottages had a few chickens, ducks or geese for their own use. After the houses had gone, we know that Derek Howlett kept chickens there in the 1950-60s. In time the area became very overgrown and choked and gradually a plethora of wild birds took over. 

Green woodpecker regularly nest in a hole in one of the heritage fruit trees. They are seen regularly in the gardens foraging for ants and on the bird feeders. They can also be regularly heard flying across the fields. The greater spotted woodpeckers seem more numerous and are very much in evidence flying in and out of the orchard. Both varieties bring their young to feed in the gardens when they fledge. They are quite large birds 31- 33cms, the size of a pigeon. Both male and females have a red cap but the male also has a red moustache and a mark each side of its face just below the eye. 

Green Woodpecker

The photograph on the left was taken in early 2019 from an adjacent garden this woodpecker is a female, without the red moustache, and was perching just above the hole in the tree where it was nesting. The photograph on the right taken a month or two later is a male and may be the from the same family, it is looking for insects on the adjacent electricity pole but also seen on the same day sitting on a shed roof feeding insects to two fledglings. They are commonly seen in early morning raiding lawns for ants.   Read more...

Donkey Lane Community Orchard - Plants growing in the Orchard

Some five years ago, if you went for a walk up Donkey Lane and crossed the railway line, you would have noticed a wild scrubby patch of land on your right. A quick glance would have shown thick brambles and ivy growing around some struggling trees, and dense undergrowth dominated by nettles. In April there was a scattering of blossom to see, and then in autumn glimpses of apples in the higher branches, revealing that someone once planted apple trees there.

Since Greening Chinnor began to selectively clear the area in 2019, it has been a revelation to see just how many species of plants have sprung up from seeds which have been resting in the dark soil. Seeds can lie dormant for many decades until the ground is disturbed and light is let in. It is very likely that at least some of the plants we find there today, are descendants of plants which were growing there when people lived on the site.

We carried out monthly surveys of the flowering plants between May and September last year, 2021. A flowering plant does not have to be in flower to be counted but it is one which will flower at some time. The following article will give you an idea of the range of plant species that we counted, which added up to 75 in all. In addition, a different survey had been made earlier in March, just looking at the non-flowering plants. This revealed some 34 species, which were mosses, lichens, fungi and one liverwort. So overall the flora found so far comprises more than 100 species, a quite astounding number.

Firstly, the trees and shrubs. Besides some 20 Apples and a Plum, we have ... Read more