Oddington, Oxfordshire

Otmoor RSPB Reserve is a nature reserve, managed by the RSPB, between Beckley and Oddington, within the wider area of Otmoor, in Oxfordshire, England. The reserve was established in 1997 and restored large areas of marshland from what had previously been farmland. The RSPB reserve covers around 1,000 acres (400 ha).Otmoor is primarily wetland and in winter provides a home to thousands of waterfowl. It is increasingly becoming a wintering ground for thousands of wildfowl and waders. Over a thousand wigeon and teal have been recorded, while birds of prey such as merlins and peregrines are regularly seen. Large areas of Otmoor have benefited from extensive agriculture using traditional methods, resulting in good numbers of songbirds that are otherwise declining in the UK, including bullfinch, skylark, reed bunting, grasshopper warbler and European turtle dove.Spring and autumn both produce good numbers of passage migrants, including waders in the spring and common redstarts and whinchats in the autumn. The best time for marsh harriers is late April to mid-May. There are good numbers of breeding waders and recent RSPB work has increased the number of pairs of northern lapwings and common redshanks. The site has become well known for murmurations (roosting displays) of starlings in winter.Bitterns were recorded as breeding in 2016.A diverse selection of other wildlife has been recorded at the reserve. Many rare plants have been reported from the area, including fen violet, downy-fruited sedge, dyer's greenweed, heath spotted orchid and green-winged orchid. The butterflies include three species of hairstreak: the black, brown and White-letter in the hedgerows, and in the meadows there are populations of marbled white and orange tip. Odonata include hairy dragonfly and variable damselfly. Mammals living on the reserve include the brown hare, European badger and Reeves's muntjac.

Charlton-on-Otmoor is a village and civil parish about 9 miles (14 km) NE of Oxford and 6 miles (10 km) SW of Bicester in Oxfordshire, England. The village, one of the seven "towns" of Otmoor, is on the northern edge of the moor on a ridge of Cornbrash. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 449.

Oddington Halt was a railway station on the Varsity Line 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of the village of Oddington, Oxfordshire. The London and North Western Railway opened the halt in 1905 and the London, Midland and Scottish Railway closed it in 1926.

Otmoor or Ot Moor is an area of wetland and wet grassland in Oxfordshire, England, located halfway between Oxford and Bicester. It is about 60 metres (200 ft) above sea level, and has an area of nearly 400 hectares (990 acres). It is encircled by the "Seven Towns" of Otmoor: Beckley, Noke, Oddington, Charlton-on-Otmoor, Fencott, Murcott and Horton-cum-Studley. Part of it is a nature reserve, RSPB Otmoor, which adjoins a Ministry of Defence firing range, which is part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Charlton Halt was a railway station on the Varsity Line 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the village of Charlton-on-Otmoor. The London and North Western Railway opened the halt in 1905 and the London, Midland and Scottish Railway closed it in 1926.

Noke is a small village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Oxford. It is on the southeast edge of Otmoor and is one of the "Seven Towns of Otmoor". The toponym is derived from Old English and means "at the oak trees". The parish still has two woodlands: Prattle Wood about 500 yards (460 m) southwest of the village, and Noke Wood about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the southeast.

Woodsides Meadow is a 4-hectare (9.9-acre) nature reserve south of Wendlebury in Oxfordshire. It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. It is part of Wendlebury Meads and Mansmoor Closes, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.This meadow still has medieval ridge and furrow marks, showing that it has not been farmed by modern methods. More than 100 species of wild flower have been recorded, such as pepper-saxifrage, sneezewort, green-winged orchid, cuckooflower and ragged-robin. Skylarks and brown hares are often seen on the site.

Wendlebury Meads and Mansmoor Closes is a 73.2-hectare (181-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Wendlebury in Oxfordshire.Wendlebury Meads consists of several meadows which have been traditionally managed, and have complex and varied flora. Calcareous pastures were common in southern England at the beginning of the twentieth century, and these meadows are among the few have survived agricultural improvements. Almost all show evidence of medieval ridge and furrow ploughing. Mansmoor Closes were enclosed very early, before 1622, and are important from both a landscape and archaeological point of view. More than 160 plant species have been recorded, including 11 of dandelion. There are birds such as snipe and curlew, and many common butterflies. The site is private land, but it is crossed by a public footpath between Charlton-on-Otmoor and Wendlebury.

Fencott and Murcott is a civil parish about 4 miles (6 km) south of Bicester in the Cherwell district of Oxfordshire, England. The parish is bounded on the north and west by the River Ray and has an area of just over 3,300 acres (1,300 ha) being 13.49 square kilometres (5.21 sq mi) inclusive of roads and watercourses. It includes the villages of Fencott and Murcott and had a population of about 285 residents in 2011. There are no shops or post offices but there is one public house, the Nut Tree Inn at Murcott. The M40 motorway passes through the northern part of the parish. The parish covers most of Otmoor, including the Otmoor RSPB nature reserve.

Otmoor SSSI is a 213-hectare (530-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Oxford in Oxfordshire. It is adjacent to RSPB Otmoor, and they are both part of Otmoor, an area of wetland and wet grassland which was enclosed in the early nineteenth century. This site in the floodplain of the River Ray has herb-rich damp grassland, wet sedge, coarse grassland, woodland, pools and ditches. More than sixty species of bird breed on the site, such as curlew and lapwing, while wintering birds include teal, wigeon, snipe, golden plover and short-eared owl.Much of the site is an MOD firing range and is closed to the public.

Fencott is a hamlet between the River Ray and Otmoor in the civil parish of Fencott and Murcott, about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Bicester in Oxfordshire, England.

Weston Otmoor was a proposed new eco-town in the north of Oxfordshire, England, in countryside to the east of the village of Weston-on-the-Green. It would have been next to Junction 9 of the M40 motorway and 7 miles (11 km) north of Oxford and was one of 15 bids shortlisted by the Department of Communities and Local Government on 3 April 2008. Eco-towns were subject to a consultation by the Department of Communities and Local Government ending 30 June 2008.