From bats to badgers, otters to owls, your local wildlife is out there making the most of the dark. GILES STROTHER, of the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust, steps into the moonlight to explore what the county has to offer after nightfall

Looking down at the lights of your home town from a high vantage point on a crisp clear night is so much more satisfying than washing dishes or watching television at home — it’s a wonder we don’t all make a point of doing it as often as possible. It’s surprising how much wildlife there is in a city after dark.

Once the daytime disturbances have died down, there are opportunities to be exploited. Muntjac deer are getting bolder, visiting larger gardens and parks inside the ring road. A forgotten fringe of trees behind a playing field may ring to the hoot of an owl. Even discarded takeaways can provide calories for a streetwise fox. Unseen in the black waters of the River Thames an otter could be passing within feet of the cars and walkers on the bridge above.

The light of the moon It was the moon that made me break the pattern one Thursday evening in November. Putting my bicycle away, I became aware of the brightness lighting the steam of my breath in the cold air and I suddenly felt like being out and about. Grabbing a hat and gloves and a flask of tea and cake, I pedalled over to South Oxford and locked up my bike in a street near Hinksey Park.

There is a footbridge that crosses the lake and the railway and gives easy access to the countryside beyond.

Walking in moonlight is a real pleasure – the moon casts a strange bluey-silver light that is all contrast and no colour. The sounds of the night become sharper to the ears. As I left the last buildings behind I could hear rustlings in the dry leaves of a thicket — probably a mouse or vole rummaging around.

A chance encounter Climbing a narrow path that ran between two large detached houses I heard a rapid soft thumping ahead of me. Stopping in my tracks I caught the shadowy movements ahead as two roe deer crossed the path and trotted confidently through a back garden. As soon as I moved, they turned their heads together to stare at me, and by time I had taken my second step they were off. Stones rattled as they scrambled up a low bank and vanished into the woodland.

Emerging from the Boars Hill woods on to the shining sweep of fields that leads back down to South Hinksey I sat for a while against an ancient oak and took in the night view of the city, drinking tea and eating cake. The roads and houses were picked out in lights, but a surprising amount was shrouded in darkness — the parks, allotments, ‘wasteland’, larger clusters of gardens and the golf course.

This is where the wildlife ‘night shift’ will be out every night — badgers, foxes, deer, hedgehogs and owls. Why not join them for an hour?

Be safe Sensible precautions are advised: take a torch in case you need it, although it reduces the sense of vision in darkness. Choose a night when the moon is full and there are few clouds. Wear warm clothes that don’t rustle too much. Take a hot drink and find a quiet spot to sit where you won’t be disturbed. Let someone know where you are and when you expect to come home.

If you would like to find out more about wildlife near you and how you can help wildlife survive the winter, why not join your local Wildlife Trust by visiting www.bbowt.org.uk or tel 01865 775476.