On Sunday 18th September, Rod d’Ayala led a field trip at Swyncombe Downs, in the Chilterns north of Nettlebed. It was raining as the party set out along the track through the bottom of the woods, where a number of large pale brown Roman snails were found in a grassy clearing. Dwarf Spurge and Small Toadflax were seen at the edge of the adjacent arable field. The sun came out as the group reached the grassy ramparts at the top of the hill, where Hawkweed Oxtongue was an unusual find. A Yellowhammer was calling from the top of a Hawthorn bush and the squash bug Coreus marginatus was identified.
There were still a good number of flowers in bloom, including Small Scabious, Pale Toadflax, Common Rockrose, Basil Thyme and Wild Candytuft. Both Dropwort and Salad Burnet plants were abundant and the narrow leaves of the Dropwort were compared with the rounder leaves of the Salad Burnet. The snail Helicella itala was identified by Chris Raper. A few butterflies were on the wing, including Meadow Browns, a Small Heath and a few Small Coppers. A large puffball with a fat stalk was identified as Lycoperdon excipuliforme. A number of poisonous plants were growing on loose soil around rabbit holes on the steep south-facing slope, including Woody and Deadly Nightshade and a single plant of Henbane. On the walk back to the start, the route lay along a south-facing bank at the top of the field below, where Horseshoe Vetch and Long-stalked Crane’s-bill were seen.
Recorded by Rod d’Ayala, Chris Raper and Malcolm Storey at Swyncombe Downs on 18 September 2011
| Common name | Scientific Name | Sub-site | Grid ref | Identifier | Abundance | Lifestage |
| Autumn Gentian | Gentianella amarella | Chalk Grassland | SU67059150 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | Occasional | |
| Basil Thyme | Acinos arvensis | Chalk Grassland | SU6794291440 | Rod d’Ayala | ||
| Basil Thyme | Acinos arvensis | Chalk Grassland | SU6691491424 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Basil Thyme | Acinos arvensis | Chalk Grassland | SU6698591477 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | 7 | Flowering plants |
| Birds Foot Trefoil | Lotus corniculatus | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Biting Stonecrop | Sedum acre | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | Uncommon | |
| Black Bindweed | Fallopia convolvulus | Arable margin | SU6750391531 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Black Medick | Medicago lupulina | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Bladder Campion | Silene vulgaris | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Blue Fleabane | Erigeron acer | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Burnet Saxifrage | Pimpinella saxifraga | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Candytuft | Iberis amara | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Chalk Milkwort | Polygala calcarea | Chalk Grassland | SU67059150 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Chalk Milkwort | Polygala calcarea | Chalk Grassland | SU67059150 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Clustered Bell Flower | Campanula glomeratum | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Common Fumitory | Fumaria officinalis | Arable margin | SU6750391531 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | Common | |
| Common Milkwort | Polygala vugaris | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | Common | |
| Common Poppy | Papaver rhoaes | Arable margin | SU6750391531 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | Common | |
| Common Ragwort | Senecio jacobea | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Common Rockrose | Helianthemum nummulariam | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Deadly Nightshade | Atropa bella-donna | Chalk Grassland | SU6702091445 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Dropwort | Filipendula vulgaris | Chalk Grassland | SU67109150 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | Common | |
| Dwarf Spurge | Euphorbia exigua | Arable margin | SU6750391531 | Rod d’Ayala | ||
| Dwarf Spurge | Euphorbia exigua | Arable margin | SU6750391531 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | Common | |
| Eyebright | Euphrasia nemerosa | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Fairy Flax | Linum catharticum | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Field Pansy | Viola arvensis | Arable margin | SU6750391531 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | Not common | |
| Glaucous Sedge | Carex flacca | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Ground Ivy | Glechoma hederacea | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Harebell | Campanula rotundifolia | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Hawkweed Oxtongue | Picris hieriaciodes | Chalk Grassland | SU6718791640 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Hedge Bedstraw | Galium mollugo | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Henbane | Hyosycamus niger | Chalk Grassland | SU6704191448 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | 1 | Rosette |
| Henbit | Lamium amplexicaule | Chalk Grassland | SU6698291477 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Hoary Mustard | Hirschfeldia incana | Chalk Grassland | SU66979147 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Hop Trefoil | Trifolium campestre | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Horseshoe Vetch | Hippocrepis comosa | Chalk Grassland | SU66959140 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Juniper | Junipeus communis | Chalk Grassland | SU6794291440 | Rod d’Ayala | 1 | |
| Juniper | Juniperus communis | Chalk Grassland | SU91209145 | Jerry and Janet Welsh, Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | 6 | |
| Kidney Vetch | Anthyllis vulnerata | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Knotgrass sp. | Polygonum sp. | Arable margin | SU67209165 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Ladies Bedstraw | Galium verum | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Long Stalked Cranesbill | Geranium columbinum | Chalk Grassland and Arable | SU6691991422 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Marjoram | Origanum vulgare | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | Uncommon | |
| Mouse Ear Hawkweed | Pilosella hieracium agg. | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | Rare | |
| Musk Thistle | Carduus nutans | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Pale Toadflax | Linaria repens | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Quaking Grass | Briza media | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Red Clover | Trifolium pratense | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Rough Hawkbit | Leontodon hispidus | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Salad Burnet | Sanguisorba minor | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Sanfoin | Onobrychis vicifolia | Chalk Grassland | SU67159162 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Scentless Mayweed | Matricaria inodorum | Chalk Grassland | SU6708391506 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Shepherds Purse | Capsella bursa-pastoris | Arable margin | SU6750391531 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | Common | |
| Silverweed | Potentilla anserina | Chalk Grassland | SU67059150 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Small Flowered Fumitory | Fumaria vaillantii | Arable margin | SU6750391531 | Rod d’Ayala | ||
| Small Scabious | Scabiosa columbaria | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Small Toadflax | Chaenorinum minus | Chalk Grassland | SU66959140 | Rod d’Ayala | ||
| Speedwell | Veronica persica | Arable margin | SU6750391531 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Squinancywort | Asperula cynanchica | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Stemless Thistle | Cirsium acaule | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Sun Spurge | Euphorbia helioscopa | Chalk Grassland | SU6750391531 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | Uncommon | |
| Sweet Briar | Rosa rubiginosa | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | Rare | |
| Thyme Leaved Sandwort | Arenaria serpyllifolia | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Upright Brome | Bromopsis erectus | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Vipers Bugloss | Echium vulgare | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Wall Lettuce | Mycellis muralis | Wood | SU66709140 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | Rare | |
| Weld | Reseda luteola | Chalk Grassland | SU6700691442 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | 1 | |
| Wild Basil | Clinopodium vulgare | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | Common | |
| Wild Mignionette | Reseda lutea | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Wild Parsnip | Pastinaca sativa | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Wild Strawberry | Fragaria vesca | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Wild Thyme | Thymus druceii | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Fungi | ||||||
| Cortinarius | Cortinarius sp. | Chalk Grassland | SU67209145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Fungus | Crinipellis stipitarius | Chalk Grassland | SU6698791478 | Malcolm Storey | ||
| Rooting Shank | Oudemansiella radicata | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Invertebrates | ||||||
| Comma | Polygonia c-album | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala | Adult | |
| Fly | Phasia sp. | Chalk Grassland | SU6808891429 | Chris Raper | 1 | Adult |
| Groundhopper | Tetrix undulata | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | ||
| Snail | Helicella itala | Chalk Grassland | SU67109150 | Chris Raper | ||
| Meadow Brown | Maniola jurtina | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | Adult | |
| Purse Web Spider | Atypus affinis | Chalk Grassland | SU6694391419 | Chris Raper | 2 | Webs |
| Roman Snail | Helix pomatia | Glade in woodland | SU6680191588 | Rod d’Ayala | 10 | Adult |
| Roman Snail | Helix pomatia | Chalk Grassland / Wood Edge | SU6686491418 | Rod d’Ayala | 1 | Dead Shell |
| Roman Snail | Helix pomatia | Chalk Grassland / Wood Edge | SU6680691366 | Rod d’Ayala | 1 | Dead Shell |
| Roman Snail | Helix pomatia | Chalk Grassland / Wood Edge | SU6677591344 | Rod d’Ayala | 1 | Dead Shell |
| Roman Snail | Helix pomatia | Chalk Grassland / Wood Edge | SU6670691347 | Rod d’Ayala | 2 | Dead Shell |
| Roman Snail | Helix pomatia | Chalk Grassland | SU6701891428 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | 5 | |
| Roman Snail | Helix pomatia | Chalk Grassland | SU6700991420 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | 1 | Adult |
| Small Copper | Lycaena phlaeas | Chalk Grassland | SU6794291440 | Rod d’Ayala | Adult | |
| Small Copper | Lycaena phlaeas | Chalk Grassland | SU67009145 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | Adult | |
| Small Heath | Coenonympha pamphilus | Chalk Grassland | SU6794291440 | Rod d’Ayala | Adult | |
| Small Heath | Coenonympha pamphilus | Chalk Grassland | SU6794291440 | Rod d’Ayala / RDNHS | Adult | |
| Speckeld Wood | Pararge aegera | Woodland | SU67109180 | Rod d’Ayala | Adult |