Author Archives: admin

New way to support MKNHS

Milton Keynes Natural History Society has registered with #easyfundraising, a website which supports fundraising for hundreds of charities and good causes.

The Society Committee decided to take this step as it offers a way for members to make small donations to MKNHS when they shop online without actually having to pay anything more than the price of their purchase, because the donation is made by the retailers who have signed up to the scheme.

The donations received will help the Society to build up the fund set up in 2018 to replace, or upgrade, as necessary the essential equipment and promotional display items purchased in previous years.

Currently there are over 4,000 participating shops and sites which will donate to us when you use #easyfundraising to shop with them. These include well-known names such as eBay, Argos, Amazon, John Lewis, ASOS, Booking.com, Tesco, Sainsbury, M&S and Expedia, covering most retail sectors, from grocery shopping to holiday and travel bookings.

So if you buy anything online, do consider signing up to easyfundraising to support MKNHS. Donations may be small, but mount up over time, the more people participate.

Click here to see how it works.

If you don’t shop on line but would like to make a small donation you can do this via the Voluntary Donations scheme, launched last year, which gives members the option of adding a voluntary donation to the annual subscription (currently £25 payable from 1st April). Amounts suggested were £5, £10 or £20 but any amount however small (or large!) is welcome It is your decision to make a donation and you can cancel it at any time. Speak to the Treasurer if you want more information.

Of course there are other ways to support the Society, not just financial. If you would like to take on a more active, practical role in running weekly meetings, or in running the Society, the committee would love the hear from you!

mobile phone 2 column test

Felmersham Gravel Pits is a 21.6 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest between the villages of Felmersham and Sharnbrook in Bedfordshire.

The site is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.

Lewis Dickinson led the walk. He explained that the site was important for whorled water-milfoil and bladderwort.

During the second World War gravel was extracted from Felmersham gravel pits to be used in the construction of local war-time air fields and other military needs. Over the decades the disused and flooded gravel pits have been managed as a nature reserve and they provide a protected area for many varieties of flora and fauna. It is also important as bird sanctuary, both as a breeding habitat and for birds on migration.

It is one of the best sites in Bedfordshire for dragonflies and damselflies. One problem managing the site is that areas have become overrun with Water Soldier. You can view an interesting video showing its removal using the Truxor Amphibious Vehicle

Lewis explained that some dragonfly enthusiasts were unhappy with the removal of the Water Soldier as they were hoping it would attract the Norfolk Hawker dragonfly to the site. As a compromise, the Water Soldier is being removed from most of the lakes but is being left in one contained area.

To start the walk we crossed the road and headed North East where we had good views of damselflies, dragonflies and butterflies. There was lots of dragonfly activity, some ovipositing, a lot of aerial combat and one unfortunate dragonfly being eaten by another. After 1.5km we turned right as if we continued on our path we would have reached the fishing lakes which tend to be more shaded with less diversity.

We tried to spot Bladderwort in some of the lakes. There were no yellow flowers visible, but some people thought they could see the small hollow sacs that are used to capture and digest tiny animals such as insect larvae, aquatic worms, and water fleas.

We passed a couple of active badger sets and we saw a couple of Buzzards circling and calling overhead. Crossing the road, we continued in a circle back to the car park where we had excellent views of a Brown Hawker perched conveniently on a low branch.

We didn’t keep a species list, but some of the species we saw were:

Butterflies
Green-veined White
Holly Blue
Large White
Speckled Wood

Dragon/Damselflies
Brown Hawker
Common BlueDamselfly
Emerald Damselfly
Rudddy Darter
Small Red-eyed Damselfly

Insects
Dark bush-cricket
Dock bug (Coreus marginatus)
Forest shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes)
Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus
Scorpion Fly

Moths
Straw Dot
Mother of Pearl

Click on any of the pictures for a larger image.

Unless captioned otherwise, photos are by Peter Hassett licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

Click on the pictures for a larger image.

Female Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) ©Paul Lund, Faversham Gravel Pits 11 August 2018

Female Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) ©Paul Lund

Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) ©Paul Lund, Faversham Gravel Pits 11 August 2018

Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) ©Paul Lund

Dock bug sp. ©Paul Lund, Faversham Gravel Pits 11 August 2018

Dock bug (Coreus marginatus) ©Paul Lund

Ruddy Darter ©Paul Lund, Faversham Gravel Pits 11 August 2018

Ruddy Darter ©Paul Lund

Scorpion fly, CC BY-NC-SA by Peter Hassett, Felmersham Gravel Pits 11 August 2018

Scorpion fly

Holly Blue, CC BY-NC-SA by Peter Hassett, Felmersham Gravel Pits 11 August 2018

Holly Blue butterfly

Female Ruddy Darter, CC BY-NC-SA by Peter Hassett, Felmersham Gravel Pits 11 August 2018

Female Ruddy Darter

Brown Hawker, CC BY-NC-SA by Peter Hassett, Felmersham Gravel Pits 11 August 2018

Brown Hawker

Green Veined White, CC BY-NC-SA by Peter Hassett, Felmersham Gravel Pits 11 August 2018

Green Veined White

Speckled Wood butterfly, CC BY-NC-SA by Peter Hassett, Felmersham Gravel Pits 11 August 2018

Speckled Wood butterfly

Emerald Damselfly, CC BY-NC-SA by Peter Hassett, Felmersham Gravel Pits 11 August 2018

Emerald Damselfly

CC BY-NC-SA by Peter Hassett, Felmersham Gravel Pits 11 August 2018

Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus)

Guelder rose, CC BY-NC-SA by Peter Hassett, Felmersham Gravel Pits 11 August 2018

Guelder rose

Male Ruddy Darter, CC BY-NC-SA by Peter Hassett, Felmersham Gravel Pits 11 August 2018

Male Ruddy Darter

Small Red-eyed Damselfly, CC BY-NC-SA by Peter Hassett, Felmersham Gravel Pits 11 August 2018

Small Red-eyed Damselfly

Common Blue Damselfly, CC BY-NC-SA by Peter Hassett, Felmersham Gravel Pits 11 August 2018

Common Blue Damselfly

Sympherobius klapaleki Zeleny by Fogh Nielsen CC by 4.0

Sympherobius klapaleki Zeleny by Fogh Nielsen CC by 4.0

A rare lacewing, Sympherobius klapaleki Zeleny (Neuroptera: Hemerobiidae) has been found in Milton Keynes by the well known entomologist Mark G. Telfer who has kindly provided this article.

Sympherobius klapaleki is a brown lacewing in which the basal two segments of the antenna are yellow-brown, strongly contrasting with the remaining segments which are all blackish. The first British specimen was reared from a pupa found on dead oak twigs at Silwood Park, Berkshire, in April 1994 (Whittington, 1998). Three further British records are known to the author, from South Essex, Nottinghamshire and Hertfordshire (Colin Plant and David Gibbs, pers. comms) (Table 1). David Gibbs’ Nottinghamshire record was of a female swept from tree foliage in an area of coniferised woodland.

Table 1: Previous British records of Sympherobius klapaleki in chronological order.

Locality Grid reference Vice county Date Collector
Silwood Park c. SU9468 22 April 1994 Mark Shaw
Larks Wood TQ382928 18 15 Jun 1999 D. Hackett
Shooters Brake, Pittance Park, Edwinstowe (Center Parcs Sherwood Forest) SK6364 56 22 Sep 2007 David J. Gibbs
West Road, Bishops Stortford TL485205 20 31 May 2008 Colin W. Plant
Figure 1: Aerial bottle trap outside a branch socket on the veteran oak at Kingsmead Spinney.

Figure 1: Aerial bottle trap outside a branch socket on the veteran oak at Kingsmead Spinney.

Two females of S. klapaleki were captured by an aerial bottle trap during 11 May to 2 June 2017 in Kingsmead Spinney, Milton Keynes (SP82433381; VC 24). The trap was suspended outside a decaying branch socket on the trunk of a hollow veteran oak Quercus on the southern boundary of the spinney (Figures 1, 2). Flight interception trapping in such a position is intended to capture saproxylic insects (especially beetles) which are either emerging from within the trunk, or are attracted towards access holes into tree trunks. This record of S. klapaleki is suggestive evidence for breeding in oaks but not conclusive; though the two females may have been flying out of or heading into the hollow trunk, it is also possible that they were captured incidentally.

Figure 2: The veteran oak on the southern boundary of Kingsmead Spinney.

Figure 2: The veteran oak on the southern boundary of Kingsmead Spinney.

The Kingsmead Spinney record appears to be the fifth British record and the first record for Buckinghamshire (VC 24), though the records to date are suggestive of a widespread and rather under-recorded species.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Martin Kincaid of The Parks Trust, Milton Keynes, for arranging the survey, and David Gibbs and Colin Plant for sharing records and information.

Reference

Whittington, A.E. (1998). Sympherobius klapaleki Zeleny (Neur.: Hemerobiidae) new to Britain. Entomologist’s record and journal of variation, 110, 288 – 289.

Monitoring inland colonies of Cormorants and Common Terns [PH]

Cormorant ©Peter Hassett, Willen 25 January 2018

Cormorant ©Peter Hassett, Willen 25 January 2018

Although Bucks is an inland county, County Recorder Andy Harding has alerted Buck Bird Club members to the fact that the National Seabird Survey organised by JNCC, covers Cormorants and Common Terns , and encourages members to provide as much information as possible. Andy says “this year in particular it would be helpful if you could make additional efforts to record all breeding or attempted breeding information of Cormorants and Common Terns and enter that information with your sightings of these species on the Club website.”

“The Seabird Monitoring Programme (SMP) aims to ensure that sample data on breeding numbers and performance of seabirds are collected, both regionally and nationally, to enable their conservation status to be assessed. Reports as seabird numbers and breeding success in Britain and Ireland”

Click on the link for more information: Seabird Monitoring Programme

Record your sightings on the Buckingham Bird Club Sightings page

 

 

Bucknell Wood trip report

Bucknell Wood, just to the north of Silverstone, is a relic of the once extensive Whittlewood Forest. Owned and managed by the Forestry Commission, it is reputed to be one of the best butterfly sites in Northamptonshire and certainly lived up to this reputation when 16 MKNHS members and one other visited last Saturday. Following Martin’s request, members car shared as much as possible, but it was still something of a squeeze in the car park.

We were blessed with blue skies and warm conditions as we met at 11am. Even as we assembled in the car park, we were treated to views of White Admiral and Silver Washed Fritillary butterflies drifting around.

Butterflies were certainly the main focus of the walk and before long we had added the common browns, whites and skippers as well as a number of purple hairstreaks who would occasionally descend from the high oaks to tantalise us with brief views.

Martin had mentioned how long the wood white butterflies were lasting and sure enough, one appeared before long. These dainty little butterflies are currently the subject of a three year habitat restoration project in the Silverstone woods and as is so often the case, this individual led us a merry dance as it flitted along the main ride but refused to alight on any plants.

We eventually saw four or five wood whites and Paul Lund was lucky enough to see a female egg-laying on one of its food plants, meadow vetchling and get some fine shots. These late wood whites were the last of the brood which began way back in April and it will be interesting to see if the warm summer weather triggers a rare second brood this year.

The stars of the show though were the Silver Washed Fritillaries, of which we saw dozens in including several pairs in cop. Few of us had seen this many before.

Marsh Tit and Coal Tit were both heard calling and brief views were obtained with 2 Buzzards and a Red Kite soaring over the wood. A Common Lizard was glimpsed as it scuttled across a fallen branch.

A surprising sighting enjoyed by a few was a Bank vole which was climbing along a blackthorn branch. We all had fantastic views of Emperor dragonflies and Brown and Southern Hawkers were also on the wing.

Early July is usually the best time to see the elusive Purple Emperor butterfly, but they had emerged in the third week of June this year so the chances of seeing a male low down were slim. We had to settle for a brief view of one soaring regally over the oak canopy and of course more Purple Hairstreaks. A lucky view got a very close look at a White Letter Hairstreak on bramble flowers before a thuggish Ringlet chased it off.

We were joined by a local butterfly enthusiast Kevin Boodley, and he was a great help in spotting some of the more unusual species. The last target before we left was the rarer Valezina form of the Silver Washed Fritillary and Kevin said he has seen several earlier in the day moving between two large bramble patches in a large clearing.

We searched and searched but got no more than brief views of a single Valezina female. However, we did see her ovipositing low down on an oak. There were many more White Admirals in this area too.

We made our way back to the car park at about 2.15pm, a little weary but delighted with what we had seen. Those who had visited Bucknell Wood for the first time were keen to re-visit.

Click on any of the pictures for a larger image. You will find more pictures from the field trip on our Members’ Photos page.

Text by Martin Kincaid.

Photos from top to bottom:

Members of the Society enjoying the walk©Peter Hassett  

Members of the Society enjoying the walk©Peter Hassett

Wood White in flight ©Paul Lund

Wood White egg laying ©Paul Lund

Wood White egg ©Paul Lund

White Admiral ©Paul Young

Silver-washed Fritallary (male) ©Paul Young

Ringlet ©Paul Young

Purple Hairstreak underside ©Paul Young

Large Skipper ©Paul Young

Gatekeeper ©Paul Young

Silver-washed Fritillary (valezina form) ©Kevin Booden

Emperor Dragonfly (male) ©Peter Hassett

 

Members of the Society ©Peter Hassett enjoying the walk in Bucknell Wood 8 July 2017
Members of the Society ©Peter Hassett enjoying the walk in Bucknell Wood 8 July 2017
Wood White in flight ©Paul Lund, Bucknell Wood, 8 July 2017

Wood White egg ©Paul Lund, Bucknell Wood, 8 July 2017
White Admiral ©Paul Young, Bucknell Wood 8 July 2017
Silver-washed Fritallary (male)©Paul Young, Bucknell Wood 8 July 2017
Ringlet ©Paul Young, Bucknell Wood 8 July 2017
Purple Hairstreak underside ©Paul Young, Bucknell Wood 8 July 2017
Large Skipper ©Paul Young, Bucknell Wood 8 July 2017
Gatekeeper ©Paul Young, Bucknell Wood 8 July 2017
Silver-washed Fritillary (valezina form) ©Kevin Booden, Bucknell Wood 8 July 2017

Emperor Dragonfly (male) ©Peter Hassett Bucknell Wood, 8 July 2017

Paul Young has provided this amazingly comprehensive species list from our visit to Bucknell Wood:

Species Common name Taxon group
Stachys officinalis Betony flowering plant
Bombus (Pyrobombus) hypnorum Tree Bumblebee insect – hymenopteran
Satyrium w-album White-letter Hairstreak insect – butterfly
Myodes glareolus Bank Vole terrestrial mammal
Lomaspilis marginata Clouded Border insect – moth
Milvus milvus Red Kite bird
Apatura iris Purple Emperor insect – butterfly
Gonepteryx rhamni Brimstone insect – butterfly
Periparus ater Coal Tit bird
Zootoca vivipara Common Lizard reptile
Centaurium erythraea Common Centaury flowering plant
Pyronia tithonus subsp. britanniae Hedge Brown insect – butterfly
Rhagonycha fulva Common Red Soldier Beetle insect – beetle (Coleoptera)
Aeshna grandis Brown Hawker insect – dragonfly (Odonata)
Phylloscopus collybita Chiffchaff bird
Thymelicus lineola Essex Skipper insect – butterfly
Anax imperator Emperor Dragonfly insect – dragonfly (Odonata)
Thymelicus sylvestris Small Skipper insect – butterfly
Vespa crabro Hornet insect – hymenopteran
Leptidea sinapis Wood White insect – butterfly
Sylvia atricapilla Blackcap bird
Potentilla anserina Silverweed flowering plant
Favonius quercus Purple Hairstreak insect – butterfly
Ochlodes sylvanus Large Skipper insect – butterfly
Columba oenas Stock Dove bird
Buteo buteo Buzzard bird
Filipendula ulmaria Meadowsweet flowering plant
Pieris napi Green-veined White insect – butterfly
Prunella modularis Dunnock bird
Troglodytes troglodytes Wren bird
Vanessa atalanta Red Admiral insect – butterfly
Turdus merula Blackbird bird
Limenitis camilla White Admiral insect – butterfly
Prunella vulgaris Selfheal flowering plant
Maniola jurtina Meadow Brown insect – butterfly
Stachys sylvatica Hedge Woundwort flowering plant
Sitta europaea Nuthatch bird
Pieris brassicae Large White insect – butterfly
Aphantopus hyperantus Ringlet insect – butterfly

Trip Report – Loughton Brook – 22 August 2017

With only two weeks remaining until the Society returns to its traditional home at Bradwell Abbey, we made a premature visit for the start of our latest summer walk, meeting at the upper car park. There was a distinctly autumnal feel to this walk – both sun and rain flirted with us but most of the walk took place under heavy cloud. However, there was still plenty of flora and fauna to enjoy.

Walking south from the car park, we took our time at the edge of the Loughton Brook. The water here is very clear in places allowing good views of the gravel beds. For once we were able to concentrate on fish, with large shoals impressing us with their speed and coordination. We saw Minnows, 3-Spined Stickleback, Rudd, Perch and Common Dace – and probably several other species which we couldn’t identify! But it was a good indication of just how much life small watercourses like this can support.

Few birds were seen (the stretch is particularly good for kingfishers) but a Little Egret flew overhead and large parties of Long Tailed Tits delighted us as they moved along the hedgerows. We heard, but did not see, a small party of Bullfinches.

Among the plants growing along the brook were Knotgrass, Purple Loosestrife, Marsh Woundwort, Himalayan Balsam and Meadow Cranesbill. We crossed the brook and walked through an area of old ridge and furrow grassland where we added Agrimony and Lady’s Bedstraw to our list.

The return leg took us along the course of the railway, through some flower rich areas and scrubby woodland. Roy pointed out some attractive ferns on the railway bridge. As the skies darkened, we began to find Mother-of-Pearl moths in good numbers and then, as dusk closed in, the bats appeared. Both Common and Soprano Pipistrelles were flying around us on the edge of Bradwell Village and were easily identified with bat detectors.

The finale was a walk through the somewhat atmospheric railway tunnel over the brook. Here we saw lots of Spiders on the walls (which, illuminated by the tunnel lights, looked superb) and a good number of impressive Old Lady moths clustered on the brick work. We arrived back at the car park just as it began to rain but before we left there was one more highlight, as a pair of Brown Long-eared Bats started hunting along the fence line of the pony paddock.

It was nice to see some new faces among the 28 people who attended this meeting. Everyone agreed that it had been a different sort of evening and we had seen an interesting variety of habitats and wildlife.

Text by Martin Kincaid
Photographs by Peter Hassett

Click on any of the pictures for a larger image.

Briefing in the car park

Briefing in the car park

Looking for fish in Loughton Brook

Looking for fish in Loughton Brook

Spleenwort in wall of old railway bridge

Wall Rue growing in old railway bridge

Wall Rue growing in old railway bridge

Old Lady moth (Mormo maura) ©Julie Lane, Loughton Brook 23 August 2017

Old Lady moth (Mormo maura) ©Julie Lane, Loughton Brook 23 August 2017

Toadflax growing beside the railway line

Toadflax growing beside the railway line

Cock Marsh – wetland plant walk 9 September 2017

tland Plant Walk 9th Sept 2017

Wetland Plant Walk 9th Sept 2017

Wetland Plant Walk – Cock Marsh (Cookham)

Saturday 9th September, 10:30-12:00

Join us for a guided walk around the Cock Marsh Ponds and discover more about the wetland plants that make this site so special.

Cock Marsh is one of 70 selected flagship sites. Flagship Sites are the best of the best ponds and pond landscapes in England and Wales. Cock Marsh itself supports several of our rarest and most threatened wetland plants. With the help of local volunteers and support from the Heritage Lottery Fund we are working to protect these ponds for the long term.

From 12pm onwards there will be chance to learn how to identify a selection of rare wetland plants before trying your hand at surveying them across the site.

No booking is required to this free event.

For more information or to let us know about any special requirements please email Peter at pcase@freshwaterhabitats.org.uk

Linford Lakes Development – Letter of Objection

Below is the draft letter which Milton Keynes Natural History Society is sending to Milton Keynes Council in objection to the proposed housing development, adjacent to Linford Lakes Nature Reserve,  we need to encourage as many people as possible to fight this development and  to write to Paul Keen at MK Council. They can either email him at paul.keen@milton-keynes.gov.uk or send a letter to the Civic Offices. It is important that the Ref No. 17/01937OUT is quoted in all correspondence.

Please use as much info in this template as possible but please put things in your own words as much as you can. I have been advised that the deadline for comments is 15th August 2017

Dear Mr Keen 07.08.17

Ref: Planning Application 17/01937/OUT Land at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes

We are writing to you with reference to this proposed development of up to 250 hours. We wish to express our deep concern about this proposal on behalf of the members of Milton Keynes Natural History Society, an action supported by our committee on 31/07/2017.

The land in question forms part of an Area of Attractive Landscape in the Milton Keynes Local Plan (2001-2011). The Society has commented with respect to Policy SD10 in the recent Draft Plan:MK Consultation that “the Society strongly endorses the policy statement relating to the Linford Lakes Area. It forms a key component of the Ouse Valley extended linear park and wildlife corridor as well as an ‘ecological resource’ in its own right. This is undoubtedly one of the most biodiverse areas in Milton Keynes and its importance cannot be overstated. Any development next to Linford Lakes is likely to have a detrimental effect on its biodiversity”.

The proposed development is immediately next to Linford Lakes Nature Reserve, owned and managed by The Parks Trust. This area of lakes, species-rich grassland, scrub and wet woodland is arguably the most important ecological site in Milton Keynes. Established as a wildfowl centre in the early 1970s, the site is now known to local bird-watchers and naturalists for its biodiversity. Among the many protected species which thrive here are otter, water vole, hedgehog, barn owl, cuckoo, great crested newt and at least eight species of bat. All of these are nationally rare and/or declining. No other single site in Milton Keynes can match this in terms of rare species. Twenty three species of butterfly and over 400 species of moth have been recorded in the past three years. A botanical survey in 2016 listed over 240 plant species.

Linford Lakes Nature Reserve and its Study Centre are open to the public on an annual permit basis. This means that everyone who visits the site has bought a permit and has a vested interest in the flora and fauna the site supports. It is one of the very few locations in Milton Keynes where cats and dogs do not visit and to some extent this explains the abundance of wildlife.

The site also has long been used as a centre for environmental education, originally by Milton Keynes Council and latterly by The Parks Trust who purchased the nature reserve in 2015. Generations of local school children have enjoyed education sessions here, learning about the natural environment and the variety of wildlife on their doorstep. Again, low visitor numbers and the absence of dogs make this site ideal for this purpose.

In my opinion, if this development goes ahead, there will be enormous and irreversible damage to this very important ecological site and the surrounding landscape. We can expect many of the vulnerable species to decline or disappear due to disturbance from humans and pets. Additionally, the site will lose its value as an education resource as visitor numbers increase and habitats are damaged. Fragmentation of landscape and habitats are a major cause of the decline in UK wildlife. Currently, the land in question is attractive to wildlife but the construction of houses here would leave many species isolated.

The Environmental Impact Assessment that the developer was obliged to carry out concluded that there would be a ‘significant negative effect on biodiversity at a county level’. The survey concludes that the zone of impact that the development would have could extend to 2km, which would of course include the nature reserve.
We can think of nowhere in Milton Keynes less suitable for housing than this site. If biodiversity has any future at all in our city it is vital that this development is not approved.

Yours sincerely

Julie Lane, Joint Chairman Linda Murphy, Joint Chairman

Martin Kincaid, Vice President

Milton Keynes Natural History Society

Trip Report – Edgewick Farm 1st August 2017

Field Vole ©Julian Lambley, Edgewick Farm 1 August 2017

Field Vole ©Julian Lambley,

The farm was a former dairy farm now maintained for local people. To find out more about this site, please visit our Wildlife Sites page.

Today members met in the town car park and, before reaching the farm fields, swifts were in the eaves of the local chapel.

Viola led the walk and was not hopeful of seeing lots to interest us. Wrong! Before long, in the second field visited, a Purple Hairstreak butterfly was seen, captured, viewed by all and then released. Several oak tree surrounded the field. After a few minutes a Short-tailed (=Field) Vole was seen taking a stroll through the short grass. This, too, was captured, viewed and released. How lucky was that!

Birds that took our interest were House Martins, Swallows and a Kestrel. Plants in flower were few – like Nipplewort, Birds’-foot Trefoil and Shepherd’s Purse. Immature Grasshoppers and Shield Bugs were plentiful but not able to be identified to species level.

Further into the site a wet area (erstwhile a pond) was encountered with Lesser Spearwort (evidence of the acid conditions). Leaving the fields we continued the walk along the adjacent footpath. Here a few brave souls were encouraged to take a quick nibble of a small bit of a leaf of Water-pepper. Within a short time the strong flavour was evident – not to be forgotten.

Time then to return to our cars by following the footpath and pavements between the houses. At one point along the path was a memorial seat behind which was the “flower of the evening” – Elecampane – a rare plant in Bucks. Thanks Viola for a good evening .

Article kindly supplied by Roy Maycock