Back in September, a select little group of us had a spectacular walk out at Kenidjack. The sun shone and the moors were wearing their best purple and yellow; it was a pity that so few turned up to appreciate it!

In October, many Penwith members joined Kerrier for a fungus foray led by Barry Candy at Trevarno. A lovely setting for any event and there's nothing like tea and cake in an orangery for finishing off a walk ... let's hope we can arrange some more events there.

And finally, while on the subject of food, don't forget the annual "do" in Penzance this year ... there will be prizes! Jane Richardson

RESTORMEL

So, where was the summer and the Indian summer? Our field visits to Breney Common this year have both attracted bad weather. Even in August we had to cancel because of torrential rain. Better luck next year Dell?

Our heathland walk at Rosenannon Downs in September fared better and, although it didn't attract many members, good numbers of grayling butterflies were seen. Also spotted were grass eggar caterpillars and golden-ringed dragonflies.

Our AGM in October included a very interesting talk and slide show on the life of otters. Many thanks to Steve Townsend (Water Vole Project Officer) for stepping in for Kate Stokes at the last minute - happy water vole hunting for the future. It was also good to catch up with friends old and new, as well as some long-standing members - we hope to see you again soon.

We have organised a couple of events outside of our area for the spring diary, so we hope members in other local groups will join us for these. We will be birdwatching on the Camel Estuary in February and walking at St Neot in May.

We have more indoor events coming up soon, at which we look forward to being warm and dry! Our members' evening on 23rd January will be in Newquay this year at the Griffin Hotel. All members are very welcome to join this informal evening and we hope to see some new faces. Kirstie Roots

TAMAR

A chilly September evening saw an intrepid group of birdwatchers assembled at Maer Lake in Bude to admire autumn migrants with the aid of two splendid telescopes and Graham Sutton and Tim Dingle on hand to tell (some of) us what we were looking at!

Besides a large variety of duck we saw greenshank, dunlin and a black-tailed godwit, not to mention the horse who stood hock deep at the edge of the lake for the duration of our visit.

Our first autumn meeting turned into a splendid "what I did on my holidays" session, due to the illness of the advertised speaker, Howard Miles. Seattle and China were the destinations we explored with the aid of Tim Dingle and John Hansen. The slides from China were taken some years ago and so showed China when there was little traffic, clothing was uniform and foreign devils a rarity.

In October we were closer to home when Dr Paul Gainey guided us round the Lizard Peninsula, with panoramic views of the coastline and close-ups of the often unique flora and fauna to be seen there.

Autumn work, including dyke clearance, has been done at Maer Lake. A stall at the Parkhouse Centre, selling Trust goods, raised over £100.

On the subject of people and wildlife, if you are having a bonfire (not very environmentally friendly) remember to check for hibernating hedgehogs before you light up. A hedgehog has settled down under some hay bales in my garage. He should be nice and snug there. Gill Ruddock
Wet weather seems to have reduced audiences for some of our local group events. Check out the diary for further opportunities to experience nature - and take a raincoat!