2020
15 March - Hodgemoor Wood
Our attempts to visit this Site of Special Scientific Interest between Seer Green and Chalfont St Giles have been dogged by misfortune. We first put it in the programme for March 2018 but the meeting was cancelled due to snow. The visit was rearranged to the following October but called off because of torrential rain. This time we had steady (though somewhat lighter) rain but three members decided to press ahead, just a few days before all group activities were cancelled to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
The wood mainly consists of beech and oak, with some conifers (probably Norway spruce), silver birch, holly and what we thought was Midland hawthorn. We heard some birds calling but only saw a crow and a blackbird. Many of the holly leaves had been mined by fly larvae. A few flowers were out: daffodils (perhaps a hybrid between the domestic and wild varieties), violets, celandine and spurge laurel. There were a few patches of bluebell leaves and a large amount of honeysuckle which will be spectacular when it blooms.
At this time of year though, the most impressive aspect of the wood is the diversity of mosses, lichens, algae and fungi. Unfortunately the only ones we could identify were the birch polypore or razor strop fungus and turkeytail or a similar small bracket fungus. The lichens included at least two of the foliose species associated with clean air, which had either broad or narrow fronds. Another phenomenon we noticed was foam at the base of a few trees.
This was a rewarding walk despite the poor weather – thanks to Alan Power for leading and Trevor Brawn for helping with navigation.
18 April - Whitecross Green Wood
Cancelled due to the Covid 19 pandemic
17 May - Frogmore Reserve
Cancelled due to the Covid 19 pandemic