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”.
Perhaps it was too hot, but only four people joined Jan Guilbride for an extremely interesting two-hour stroll in the Pauline Flick reserve, near Great Rollright, on the morning of Sunday 25 June.
On the warm, balmy afternoon of Sunday 28 May, twenty-two of us wandered down Hill Valley at Aston Upthorpe. While we were being serenaded by blackcaps and whitethroats, we soon identified several butterflies: common blue, brimstone, peacock and small whites. Once we were on a rough chalk and flint hillside, there were the dingy skippers and to our delight what we thought was the rare grizzled skipper.
Following Lisa Lane’s excellent talk about the Chimney Meadows Restoration Project in February, on Monday 15 May 2023 thirteen Field Club members met with Lisa once again to see the Project for ourselves. We were lucky in that it was a dry, fairly sunny day, although the wind was chilly.
Field Club walks are usually not very challenging, but this one was different: it was variously described as an obstacle course or even an adventure. Despite the challenges, we found what we had gone to look for and people enjoyed the adventure, or at least seemed to.
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:
It was noticeably an all-female group of eleven who visited the Oxford University Herbaria on the 17th of February, where we enjoyed a fascinating afternoon led by Professor Stephen Harris from the Department of Plant Sciences.
Brenda Betteridge writes:
Julia’s pop-up walk on 18 September was a great success. Thirteen of us enjoyed spending this sunny Sunday morning in the Windrush Valley. After walking through the village of Asthall, our starting point, we took the lane which leads to Toque House and Asthall Farm where, on the south side of a barn, we noticed a vigorous member of the Amaranthaceae family.
John C. writes:
We don’t usually think of this time of year as a time to go looking for flowers but there are a number of late-flowering species that are as rewarding to find as the season winds down as the first spring flowers are as the season winds up. A particular favourite of mine is autumn gentian, Gentianella amarella. Whilst perhaps not as spectacular as spring gentians – which are rare in the British Isles – they’re not very uncommon and have, to my mind, a rather understated charm.
It was a warm though overcast morning on 3 August when sixteen of us gathered to look for butterflies on the Wychwood Forest Trust’s Wigwell reserve at Charlbury. We were led by Roger Newman who gave each of us an identification sheet to use and keep, plus a brief demonstration of how to use the I-Record Butterflies site.
WEST OXFORDSHIRE FIELD CLUB