9th October 2012

First ground frost of the winter meant no moths in the trap! A colleague found a Stonechat on the Phase 3 development site yesterday - just my luck that I couldn't join him as it is a rare bird here. At lunchtime I led a small group around the top lakes where we saw 2 Little Grebes. We moved on to Barnes Dell to see and smell the Katsura Trees - or Treacle Trees as I call them. They are a very unassuming native of China but the attraction lies in their leaves that are so packed with sugars that when they fall and start to rot the exude a sweet toffee smell. Read more about them here.

Clock House Drive in early morning sunshine