Category: Club

Reports of WOFC meetings

Club

Sydlings Copse

Post author By WOFC
Post date 22nd Oct 2023

Thursday 24th August 2023 was one of those beautiful, warm days when eight of us gathered to visit Sydlings Copse, one of my favourite nature reserves, close to Oxford city. I was already worried that the flowers would be over so late in the season, but when I learned on a recce a week before that BBOWT’s roving sheep were going to be released to ‘mow the grass’, I really felt like cancelling the trip. However, with both Julia and Maggie’s optimism and the reassurance from the BBOWT warden that the sheep didn’t like the sharp taste of herbs, we went ahead.

Club

Bats by the Windrush

Post author By WOFC
Post date 30th Sep 2023

Windrush from wooden bridge in Witney - a bat foraging area.

Gavin Hageman writes: At 7:15pm – about ten minutes after sunset – on Friday 22 September, fourteen of us, including Maggie’s two enthusiastic and bubbly grandchildren, met at the Woodford Way car park in Witney to look (or rather listen) for bats.

Tags Bats, Mammals

Club

In the Footsteps of Dinosaurs

Post author By WOFC
Post date 21st Sep 2023

Thirteen of us met with leader John Baker in Stonesfield Church car park on the grey but dry Sunday morning of 17 September. Owen Green from the Oxford Geology Trust came along too, so we had a full quota of Geology experts! Thus began a fascinating and rather exciting morning of discovery.

Tags Geology

Club

Spiders and Insects

Post author By WOFC
Post date 15th Sep 2023

Collecting spiders from a tree (J. Baker).

On the mercifully cooler afternoon of Sunday 10 September following a week of temperatures regularly reaching 30 degrees C, a group of non-arachnophobes assembled at North Leigh Common for an excursion led by Lawrence Bee. Lawrence’s background was in ecological and environmental education, and he developed specific interests in spiders and insects, and has co-written several beautifully illustrated books on the subject.

Tags Insects

Club

Glow-worms at Swinbrook 2023

Post author By WOFC
Post date 23rd Aug 2023

Female Glow-worm, Swinbrook Churchyard, 9 June 2023.

Ten of us met near Swinbrook church in the evening of 12 July for a walk in the area followed by a hunt for glow-worms after dark.

Tags Insects

Club

Wychwood Forest Fair

Post author By WOFC
Post date 19th Aug 2023

The Club had a stand in the marquee at the Wychwood Forest Fair at Foxburrow Wood, on Sunday 9 July, again this year.

Club

FarmEd Farm Walk

Post author By WOFC
Post date 10th Aug 2023

Sixteen members signed up for the FarmEd walk before the Club’s 60th birthday lunch on 3 August. We learned a great deal from Danielle, our walk leader, who gave us a short introduction about the aims of the not-for-profit organisation at Honeydale Farm, ie “to inspire, educate and connect people to build sustainable farming and food systems that nourish people and regenerate the planet”.

Tags Flowers

Club

60th Birthday Lunch

Post author By WOFC
Post date 8th Aug 2023

Sue Morton writes: The Club is 60 years old this year, and we marked the occasion with a lunch on 3 August at FarmEd, near Shipton under Wychwood.

Club

Butterflies at Charlbury

Post author By WOFC
Post date 26th Jul 2023

Essex Skipper, Wigwell NR, 20 July 2023.

Despite the recent unsettled weather, our butterfly hunt on 20 July struck lucky with the elements, and fine, calm conditions netted a fully subscribed haul of members, and a good range of butterflies too.

Tags Butterflies, Insects, Moths

Club

Moth Morning 2023

Post author By WOFC
Post date 13th Jul 2023

Small Elephant Hawkmoth, Shilton, July 2023.

As always, Moth Morning on Saturday 1 July was a success, attracting a full quota of members. Despite it being cloudy, breezy, and cool with an occasional shower, there were plenty of moths collected overnight in the three traps.

Tags Moths