2        REMEMBERING ROY MAYCOCK
Roy Maycock (who passed away in 2024) was the Society’s President for many years and a great ambassador for MKNHS. He was an eminent botanist and the Country Recorder of plants until his final years. This evening we will pay tribute to his memory and hear about his tireless work in recording and promoting the county’s plants.

9        LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
The Parks Trust’s Outdoor Learning team runs a varied education programme working with schools, youth groups and community groups across Milton Keynes. Florie Bryant will give us an overview of their varied work.

14      CANCELLED: SUNDAY WALK – BURY FIELD COMMON      2pm  Leader:  Carol Watts
Due to forecast strong winds – and a lack of birds! – this walk has been cancelled. We hope to re-arrange it in Spring 2026>
Martin & Carol

16      XMAS PARTY
Our traditional festive gathering and feast. Come along with a dish to share and something to drink as we review the past year and enjoy a festive feast.
There will be a raffle in aid of Willen Hospice during the evening (as has been the case for many years), so please bring some cash with you to buy tickets. Alternatively if you cannot get to the Cruck Barn or prefer not to take part in a raffle, you can donate directly to Willen Hospice via their website willen-hospice.org.uk 

23      NO MEETING
30      NO MEETING

06      MEMBERS’ EVENING – BOOK REVIEWS

Please bring along a recent book on wildlife or an environmental theme, an identification
guide or a digital guide/website or app (maybe something from your Christmas
stocking!) and be prepared to say a few words about it, and why you’d recommend
it to others.

13      SUMMER PLANNING

An earlier than usual session to plan our outdoor meetings over the spring and summer months
(at least that should mean we all get our details in on time!). Do please come along with suggestions for sites to visit and offers to lead a walk around the site.

20      ST KILDA & THE HEBRIDES – Cruising to the Edge of the World (Zoom Meeting)

Sara Frost (Naturetrek) spent three years working in the Hebrides as a wildlife guide. This evening she will take us to St Kilda,
one of only 35 sites in the world to hold joint UNESCO World Heritage status for both cultural and natural heritage.
Sara will recount the wonderful wildlife which inhabits these islands and surrounding waters – from otters,
eagles and seabirds to dolphins, sharks and whales. She will also give insight
into the life of the hardy St. Kildan people, which was one of remarkable self-sufficiency.

27      THE HIGH-ALTITUDE FAUNA AND FLORA OF THE FRENCH PYRENEES

Society member Tim Arnold connects the geology, topography, hydrology, climate
and farming practices with the wildlife to be found above 1,500 metres in the French
Pyrenees.

03      INTRODUCING GROUND-BEETLES – THE JOHN WICKHAM LECTURE  

Brian Eversham is Chief Executive of Beds, Cambs and Northants Wildlife Trust.
This evening, we welcome him back to talk about ground-beetles. This group of beetles are about as
diverse as birds in Britain, they include good ‘habitat indicators’ in almost all habitats,
from mountain-tops to seashores, they have a huge range of lifestyles and behaviours,
and almost all species can be identified alive, in the field, with a hand lens.

10      THE BUCKS AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES GROUP (Zoom meeting)

Claudia Bernadini will talk to us about the work of the group and how MKNHS members can get involved.

17      RECONNECTING BERNWOOD, OTMOOR AND THE RAY (RBOR)

RBOR is an exciting new landscape-scale conservation project in Oxfordshire and
Buckinghamshire which aims to work in partnership with local people to restore
nature, preserve heritage and strengthen the connection between this special
landscape and the urban and rural communities that call it home. Hannah
Broad, RBOR Community Organising and Engagement Officer at BBOWT, will give
an overview of the project and provide an opportunity for you to share your
experience of the landscape to help shape the RBOR programme.

24      30 YEARS IN THE TOWER

George Candlin, Keeper of the Swifts at Oxford University Museum of Natural History,
will describe the museum building, the colony and their monitoring of the swifts over this period
along with a history of how it came to be. 

03      WILDLIFE IN FINNMARK

Former  MKNHS member Jeff Blincow first visited Finnmark in 1980 primarily to see the birdlife.
He now spends each summer recording wildlife in Norway. Finnmark is
the northern part of Norway with Finland to the south and Russia to the east.
Most of the area where he records wildlife is either classic alpine or arctic
tundra habitats. These are seriously harsh conditions for plants and animals,
and the talk will focus on these true survivors of Europe drawing on his
experiences from general wildlife recording and specific project involving species
such as Slavonian Grebe, Lesser Whitefront and Ruff.

10      MEMBERS’ EVENING

An opportunity for members to share recent wildlife encounters and areas of natural history interest.
Offers to talk for 10-15 minutes to Martin Kincaid or Linda Murphy please.

17      ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

A review of the Society’s activities over the past year and the election of our officers and
committee. New committee members and officers are always welcome. The Society
needs to maintain a full and active committee. If you would like to contribute
to the running of the Society, please speak to a committee member to find out
more.

24      PHOTO COMPETITION 2026 – RESULTS

You will have
been asked to vote online for your favourite members’ photos over the past few
weeks.
Tonight, we reveal the overall winner and runners-up, and award the Ron
Arnold Trophy to the winner.

31      THE GREAT AUK: Its Extraordinary Life, Hideous Death and Mysterious Afterlife (Zoom Meeting)
A conversation with leading ornithologist, Professor Tim Birkhead, exploring the 
life and death of the Great Auk driven to extinction in 1844 through human
activity. He will tell the story of how this came about, how the bird has lived
on through the unrelenting subsequent collectors’ quest for its remains and
how, 180 years on, he found himself the recipient of the archive of a man who
accumulated more Great Auk skins and eggs than anyone else. Since 1950 more
than seventy percent of the world’s seabirds have been lost through human
activity. The Great Auk was the first seabird to suffer this fate and is an
all-powerful symbol of human folly and the necessity of conservation.

07      EASTER BREAK – No Meeting

14      FLORA OF THE CHILTERNS

Freelance botanist and outdoor educator Karen Van Oostrum will take us on a tour
of the Chilterns’ rich flora, showing how its plant communities have been
shaped over centuries by geology and land use. She will also draw some
comparisons with the flora and geology of the Milton Keynes area, highlighting
key similarities and differences.

21      PRACTICAL SESSION

A practical identification session at the Cruck Barn starting outdoors (weather permitting)
in preparation for our summer outdoor programme. Focus to be confirmed nearer
the time.

28      FIRST OUTDOOR MEETING of the Summer Programme