Long Herdon Meadow

{{Short description|Protected area in Buckinghamshire, England}}

{{Infobox SSSI

|image=Long Herdon Meadow 4.JPG

|name= Long Herdon Meadow

|aos= Buckinghamshire

|interest= Biological

|gridref={{gbmappingsmall| SP648202 }}

|area= 4.5 hectares

|notifydate=1985

|map=[http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271001470%27 Magic Map]

}}

Long Herdon Meadow is a {{convert|4.5|hectare|acre|adj=on}} biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Marsh Gibbon in Buckinghamshire.{{cite web|url= http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1001470.pdf |title=Long Herdon Meadow citation|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate= 20 March 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271001470%27 |title=Map of Long Herdon Meadow|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate= 20 March 2016}} It is part of Upper Ray Meadows nature reserve, which is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.{{cite web|url= http://www.bbowt.org.uk/reserves/Upper-Ray-Meadows |title=Upper Ray Meadows |publisher=Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust|accessdate= 20 March 2016}}

The site is an alluvial meadow next to the River Ray in the Vale of Aylesbury. It has clay soil and is liable to flooding. A regime of a hay cut followed by cattle grazing, without the use of artificial fertilisers, has resulted in a diverse grassland habitat now rare in England. Herbs include meadow buttercup, lesser knapweed and devil's bit scabious. Ditches and the riverbank provide a permanently wet habitat, encouraging wading birds such as snipe and curlew. Invertebrates include damselflies.

There is access from the Bernwood Jubilee Way between Marsh Gibbon and the A41 road, adjacent to the River Ray.