Reports of members’ activities and sightings
Brenda Betteridge, a long term member and one-time Newsletter editor of WOFC, has written some of her memories of the early days of WOFC [which seemed to be rather more adventurous then!]
John C. writes: Late on a rather warm Sunday afternoon nearly three weeks ago we were intrigued by the behaviour of some small bees in the unmown ‘meadow’ area of Sue’s garden.
John C. writes: Tidying up in the garden a couple of days ago I noticed some white deposits on stalks in my leaf-mould bin. It would have been easy to dismiss them as ‘just mould’ but I decided to look more closely – if you don’t look, you don’t find! – and what I found, though small, was extraordinary and really rather beautiful.
West Oxfordshire Field Club is 60 years old this year. Malcolm Brownsword, who is one of the club’s longest-standing members and a Vice President, has written some personal reminiscences of his time in the club.
Malcolm Brownsword writes:
At Aston Upthorpe Downs on 28 May, we found what we first assumed to be the sloughed off skin of a young adder. Subsequent research the next day suggested otherwise.
A neighbour of mine recently witnessed, and photographed, an event that he described as a scene of ‘fear and frustration’ through his study window.
Malcolm Brownsword writes:
In the last week of May, I discovered an uncommon arachnid in my garden. I had seen this species forty years ago on the Costa Blanca and about ten years ago at BBOWT’s Hartslock reserve on the flower spike of a Pyramidal Orchid. It’s the Flower Crab Spider, Misumena vatia.
As we were walking up Worsham Lane at about 9pm last Friday evening we saw what we took to be a caterpillar walking across the road. It had to be rescued. We encouraged it onto a leaf for a closer look.
Maggie Collins writes:
What a hullabaloo this morning at 5.30 am in suburban Witney! It sounded like crows so I got up, reluctantly, to see what it was all about. Hundreds (or so it seemed) of crows were flying around the houses in quite a state making a great racket on our normally quiet street – jackdaws and carrion crows as far as I could tell, once I got my binoculars out.
Maggie Collins writes: Several members of the Field Club joined the Wychwood Flora Group on Sunday, 26 March to survey the Yellow Star of Bethlehem, Gagea lutea, at Whitehill Woods, near Stonesfield. Genny Early’s report for the Flora Group follows:
WEST OXFORDSHIRE FIELD CLUB