Stanford End Mill And River Loddon
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Stanford End Mill and River Loddon is a biological
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
south of
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
in
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
. It covers Stanford End Mill meadows and a stretch of the
River Loddon The River Loddon is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises at Basingstoke in Hampshire and flows northwards for to meet the Thames at Wargrave in Berkshire. Together, the Loddon and its tributaries drain an area of . T ...
between Stanford End and Sheep Bridge north-west of
Swallowfield Swallowfield is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, about south of Reading, and north of the county boundary with Hampshire. Geography The civil parish of Swallowfield also includes the nearby villages of Riseley and Farley Hi ...
. The mill was built in early Victorian times on the Stratfield Saye estate.Water Mills on the Thames and Loddon, Wargrave Local History Society, May 2015
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Fauna

The site has the following animals


Mammals

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European water vole The European water vole or northern water vole (''Arvicola amphibius''), is a semi-aquatic rodent. It is often informally called the water rat, though it only superficially resembles a true rat. Water voles have rounder noses than rats, deep br ...


Birds

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Little grebe The little grebe (''Tachybaptus ruficollis''), also known as dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''takhus'' "fast" and ''bapto'' "to sink under". The specific ''ruficollis'' is from Latin ...
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Moorhen Moorhens—sometimes called marsh hens—are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family (Rallidae). Most species are placed in the genus ''Gallinula'', Latin for "little hen". They are close relatives of coots. They are of ...
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Coot Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...
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Mute swan The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurosiberia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home ...
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Common kingfisher The common kingfisher (''Alcedo atthis''), also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of ...


Invertebrates

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Pisidium moitessierianum ''Pisidium moitessierianum'' is a species of minute freshwater clam. It is an aquatic bivalve mollusc in the family Sphaeriidae. Description This species is the smallest of the pea clams or ''Pisidium'' species, and the smallest of any ...
* Pisidium tenuilineatum *
Vertigo antivertigo ''Vertigo antivertigo'' is a species of minute air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc or micromollusc in the family Vertiginidae, the whorl snails. MolluscaBase eds. (2023). MolluscaBase. Vertigo antivertigo (Draparna ...
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Vertigo moulinsiana Desmoulin's whorl snail (''Vertigo moulinsiana'') is a species of minute air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc or micromollusc in the family Vertiginidae, the whorl snails. This species was named in honor of th ...


Flora

The site has the following Flora:


Trees

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Alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...
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Salix alba ''Salix alba'', the white willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and western and central Asia.Meikle, R. D. (1984). ''Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland''. BSBI Handbook No. 4. .Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain an ...
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Fraxinus ''Fraxinus'' (), common name, commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of Subtropics, subtropic ...
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Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native plant, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus ...


Plants

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Fritillaria meleagris ''Fritillaria meleagris'' is a Eurasian species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae. Its common names include snake's head fritillary, snake's head (the original English name), chess flower, frog-cup, guinea-hen flower, guinea flower, ...
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Potamogeton nodosus ''Potamogeton nodosus'' is a species of aquatic plant known by the common names longleaf pondweed and Loddon pondweed. It is native to Eurasia and the Americas, where it is widespread and can be found in water bodies such as ponds, lakes, ditche ...
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Alopecurus pratensis ''Alopecurus pratensis'', known as the meadow foxtail or the field meadow foxtail, is a Perennial plant, perennial grass belonging to the grass family (Poaceae). It is native to Europe and Asia. This common plant is found on grasslands, especia ...
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Holcus lanatus ''Holcus lanatus'' is a perennial grass. The specific epithet ' is Latin for 'woolly' which describes the plant's hairy texture. Common names include Yorkshire fog, tufted grass, and meadow soft grass. In North America, where it is an invasive ...
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Ranunculus acris ''Ranunculus acris'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, and is one of the more common buttercups across Europe and temperate Eurasia. Common names include meadow buttercup, tall buttercup, common buttercup and giant but ...
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Rumex acetosa Sorrel (''Rumex acetosa''), also called common sorrel or garden sorrel, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Polygonaceae. Other names for sorrel include spinach dock and narrow-leaved dock ('dock' being a common name for the genus '' ...
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Plantago lanceolata ''Plantago lanceolata'' is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It is known by the common names ribwort plantain, narrowleaf plantain, English plantain, ribleaf, lamb's tongue, and buckhorn. It is a common weed on c ...
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Centaurea nigra ''Centaurea nigra'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names lesser knapweed, common knapweed and black knapweed. A local vernacular name is hardheads. It is native to Europe but it is known on other ...
* Rhinanthus minor *
Silaum silaus ''Silaum silaus'', commonly known as pepper-saxifrage, is a perennial plant in the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) (the carrot family) found across south-eastern, central, and western Europe, including the British Isles. It grows in damp grasslan ...
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Ophioglossum vulgatum ''Ophioglossum vulgatum'', commonly known as adder's-tongue, southern adders-tongue or adders-tongue fern, is a species of fern in the family ''Ophioglossaceae''. The adder’s tongue fern is generally believed to have the largest number of chro ...
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Carex disticha ''Carex disticha'' is a Eurasian species of sedge known as the brown sedge or, in North America, tworank sedge. Distribution ''Carex disticha'' is native to parts of Northern and Western Europe, where it grows in moist spots in a number of habit ...
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Carex panicea ''Carex panicea'', commonly known as carnation sedge, is a plant species in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is known as grass-like sedge and can be found in Northern and Western Europe, and also in north-eastern North America. The plant produ ...
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Cardamine pratensis ''Cardamine pratensis'', the cuckoo flower, lady's smock, mayflower, or milkmaids, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is a perennial herb native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia. The specific name ''pratensis'' is Latin ...
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Lychnis flos-cuculi ''Silene flos-cuculi'' (syn. ''Lychnis flos-cuculi''), commonly called ragged-robin, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. This species is native to Europe and Asia, where it is found along roads and in wet meadows and p ...
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Oenanthe fistulosa ''Oenanthe fistulosa'', tubular water-dropwort, is a flowering plant in the carrot family, native to Europe, North Africa and western parts of Asia. It is an uncommon plant of wetlands, growing around pools and along ditches, mainly in areas of ...
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Potamogeton pectinatus ''Stuckenia pectinata'' (Synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Potamogeton pectinatus''), commonly called sago pondweed or fennel pondweed, and sometimes called ribbon weed, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan water plant species that grows in fres ...
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Nuphar lutea ''Nuphar lutea'', the yellow water-lily, brandy-bottle, or spadderdock, is an aquatic plant of the family ''Nymphaeaceae'', native to northern temperate and some subtropical regions of Europe, northwest Africa, western Asia, North America, and ...
* Sagitarria sagittifolia *
Schoenoplectus lacustris ''Schoenoplectus lacustris'', the lakeshore bulrush or common club-rush, is a species of club-rush (genus ''Schoenoplectus'') that grows in fresh water across Europe and some neighbouring areas. Description ''Schoenoplectus lacustris'' grows up ...
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Sparganium erectum ''Sparganium erectum'', the simplestem bur-reed or branched bur-reed, is a perennial plant species in the genus ''Sparganium ''Sparganium'' (bur-reed) is a genus of flowering plants, described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. It is widespread ...
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Epilobium hirsutum ''Epilobium hirsutum'' is a flowering plant belonging to the willowherb genus ''Epilobium'' in the family Onagraceae. It is commonly known as the great willowherb, great hairy willowherb or hairy willowherb. Local names include codlins-and-cream, ...
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Eupatorium cannabinum ''Eupatorium cannabinum'', commonly known as hemp-agrimony, or holy rope, is a herbaceous plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a robust Perennial plant, perennial native to many areas of Europe. The alkaloids may be present in the plant material ...
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Symphytum officinale ''Symphytum officinale'' is a perennial flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. Along with thirty four other species of ''Symphytum'', it is known as comfrey. To differentiate it from other members of the genus ''Symphytum'', this species is ...
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Lythrum salicaria ''Lythrum salicaria'' or purple loosestrifeFlora of NW Europe''Lythrum salicaria'' is a flowering plant belonging to the family Lythraceae. It should not be confused with other plants sharing the name loosestrife that are members of the family Pr ...
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Filipendula ulmaria ''Filipendula ulmaria'', commonly known as meadowsweet or mead wort, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Rosaceae that grows in damp meadows. It is native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia (Near east and Middle east). It has ...
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Petasites hybridus ''Petasites hybridus'', the butterbur, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe and northern Asia. Although used over centuries in traditional medicine to treat various disorders, there are no approved ...
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Myosotis scorpioides ''Myosotis scorpioides'' ( syn. ''Myosotis palustris''), the true forget-me-not or water forget-me-not, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the borage family, Boraginaceae. Distribution and habitat It is native to Europe and Asia, bu ...
* Myosoton aquaticum *
Nasturtium officinale Watercress or yellowcress (''Nasturtium officinale'') is a species of aquatic flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae. Watercress is a rapidly growing perennial plant native to Europe and Asia. It is one of the oldest known leaf ve ...
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Urtica dioica ''Urtica dioica'', often known as common nettle, burn nettle, stinging nettle (although not all plants of this species sting) or nettle leaf, or just a nettle or stinger, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae. Ori ...
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Dipsacus fullonum ''Dipsacus fullonum'', syn. ''Dipsacus sylvestris'', is a species of flowering plant known by the common names wild teasel or fuller's teasel, although the latter name is usually applied to the cultivated variety ''D. fullonum'' var. ''sativus' ...


References

{{SSSIs Berks Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Berkshire Swallowfield