4
poor weather between early Apri 1 and June. This number is in marked contrast to previous years
when very few 'large' bats have been found. The captive individual required the amputation of a
wing since a cat had broken the upper arm and forearm. It is now apparently thriving in captivity,
eating approximately 50 mealworms a day.
It was disappointing that such a successful meeting could not be attended by more members - of
those present, only 5 were members of the Field Club.
John Dobson
BAT WALK, 12TH JULY, 1991
The annual bat walk was held again at Hanningfield Reservoir on a blustery, overcast evening.
Attention was concentrated on the sheltered side of a conifer plantation, adjacent to the water. By
9.30p.m. the meeting had already been an entomological success with thousands of mosquitoes in
attendance. Shortly afterwards, the first Pipistrelles were observed, followed by 6 Serotines which
flew close to our heads until darkness, and the threat of the car park being locked, intervened. Again
a successful meeting attending by 4 members and 3 non-members.
John Dobson
A LOST GEM
Early in 1990 I was given a small quantity of Corncockle seed {Agrostemma githago) which in late
April I broadcast, scratching the soil a little to cover it. It was sown in a strip of unplanted land
dividing potatoes from Linseed. (The Linseed is a new crop called Cambridge Blue, which on a
June morning flowers only to disappear by midday and then repeat the process the following day.)
The dividing strip is left to enable the potato crop to grow and then collapse without smothering the
neighbouring crop.
It is always my intention to keep the strip clear of weeds, but I seldom succeed and last year was no
different in this respect.
A small number of Corncockle seeds germinated and easily held their own against vigorous
Redshanks (Polygonum persicaria), growing to a height of about 18 inches and flowering well into
August. The seeds from that successful flowering I have planted this year in the same situation and
with the same results.
After a crop of Potatoes, the land is not ploughed so that any tubers remaining are exposed and
hopefully killed by frost, after which the woodpigeons get a free meal.
The next crop is winter wheat, which, unusually, was not sprayed with the autumn herbicide
normally applied to kill Blackgrass (Alopecurus myosuroides). It does in fact also take out most
seedling weeds.