Category: Members

10 August 2026

For some years I have left part of my lawn uncut after the cowslips have finished flowering. “No Mow May” has gradually turned into No Mow June, July and August, and various plants and insects have moved in. Then the other day I made a startling discovery – read on to find out what it was.

The field between Hailey Road and Mill Street in Witney is surprisingly good for wildlife. In the last few weeks I have found some quite spectacular caterpillars there – read on to find out more.

Sue Morton writes:

Jenny Insch spotted two dark bush crickets in her greenhouse at the beginning of October, and sent me a photo and video. What were they up to?

Admittedly it wasn’t the best fuchsia I’ve grown, but it was looking a bit peaky, so I had a closer look. Can you spot the culprit?

Last year one of John’s neighbours sent him a photo of a sparrowhawk in his garden sitting on top of a squirrel trap, where a blackbird was taking refuge, and you can read about it in his blog from last June. This year the same neighbour spotted another sparrowhawk on a more ambitious hunting trip.

Jean Thompson writes enthusiastically about a few days she recently spent in Scotland: I’ve just returned from a three-day break in Scotland with my sisters, staying with one sister in Crieff before travelling to Pitlochry to meet the other. We all have a variety of interests, including the natural world so all enjoyed our trip to Faskally Woods.

Sue Morton writes: Keen followers of the blogs on our website may remember that last year I had large numbers of common furrow bees spending the night on ribwort plantains in my uncut lawn. The conclusion was that they were probably males roosting communally. I was very pleased to see that they have returned this year, not only to the same plant species but to an almost identical place in the lawn.

Nick Johnson writes: We were visiting friends last Saturday [8 June] in a village near Hitchin called Pirton. About a mile from their house is a small reserve called Knocking Hoe which is in fact the last easterly knoll of the Chilterns with wonderful views eastwards. This is an account of our walk to and around Knocking Hoe.

John C. writes: This morning I spent another hour in Sue’s meadow. There wasn’t a lot about except plenty of flower beetles. But my eye was caught by something on a plantain leaf.

The speckled bush crickets in my garden are getting bigger, but also more difficult to find for some reason. When they are tiny, they can easily be seen in Welsh Poppy flowers, where they show up nicely against the bright yellow petals. Now they are growing up, I have to hunt around for them more.