CUTTLE BROOK LOCAL NATURE RESERVE HAWTHORN (Crataegus monogyna)
(courtesy Mitchell Beasley Publishers Ltd.-Hugh Johnson © 1973)
A reminder of what Spring looked like! Hawthorns abound on our Nature Reserve, forming impenetrable thorny (not surprisingly, as they are of the rosaceae - rose family) hedgerows or dense, compact trees that usually appear rather wild. They are also known as May trees due to their intense blossom and smell in May-June. Hawthorns are one of the most common and hardy of European lowland trees and are especially important to birdlife in autumn and winter, when their profusion of red haws (berries) provide food when little else is available. In Spring, our Hawthorns give protection to nesting birds by virtue of their spiky branches, many trees overhang the Cuttle Brook and offer prime nesting sites sheltered from predators and disturbance by squirrels, sparrowhawks and dogs. Hawthorn hedges are thankfully common in the Oxfordshire countryside but in towns have largely been supplanted by a monotony of Privet and Leyland Cypress which offer very little to wildlife.
Cuttle Brook Local Nature Reserve is owned by Thame Town Council and managed by Cuttle Brook conservation Volunteers