Banbury Ornithological Society - 9 March 2026

Dragonflies and butterflies of the Banbury area – an introduction - Steve Holliday and Mike Prentice

Members of BOS have a long history of recording birds in the area but during warm sunny days in spring and summer, many insects are also on the wing. Butterflies and dragonflies are among the most conspicuous and among the easiest to record as there are fewer than 30 regular species of each group to be found locally.

Steve Holliday and Mike Prentice will provide a short introduction to these dazzling flying insects with tips on identification and suggestions of the best sites to see a range of species.

Sean Woodcock, MP for Banbury visited the BOS reserve at Balscote Quarry recently, to see conservation in action. Steve Holliday, one of the site wardens said, “Balscote may be a small site (6ha) but, through positive management, it holds Red List birds such as Lapwing and Yellowhammer, 24 species of butterfly and much more." We looked at the vital role volunteers play in habitat management on site and, in light of BOS data on local bird declines, how we can develop a more joined-up approach to nature conservation locally. We finished by discussing how new proposals in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill can benefit, not harm, biodiversity.

The Long Day Count is carried out by teams of observers in each of the twelve 10km squares recording the number of bird species seen during a maximum of 12 daylight hours on the second Sunday in May each year. Read more ...

Meetings

9 March 2026 - Indoor Meeting at 7.30pm

Sean Woodcock MP visits Balscote Quarry

Long Day Count: 2 or 3 May 2026