Croughton flora and fauna

The main farmlands you will walk across are those of Pimlico farm (Mr. And Mrs. John Harper), Manor Farm (Mr. Andrew Harper), Rowler (Mr. Eisenberg), and Gatteridge farm (Mr. Thompson). The lands of Home farm (was Mr. Fletcher) are now farmed as part of Rowler. There is a good mixture of arable and permanent pasture so you will find cattle particularly on parts of Manor and Gatteridge farms. Please keep dogs under firm control where cattle and sheep are found.

There is plenty of wild life in the parish. You will find ponds have been created at Pimlico farm and near the old Astwick quarry (east of Croughton), which attract many kinds of birds as well as fishermen. These ponds are in addition to the old established ones to the west of Croughton. There are also the beginnings of streams and brooks which encourage wild life. A small wetland area exists at the west end of the village, but there is no risk of flooding in the village.

These are some of the birds spotted in recent years but we would like to know of more :- Blackbirds, blue, great and coal tits, greenfinches, collared doves, wood pigeons, nuthatches, thrushes, house and hedge sparrows, pied wagtails, swifts and housemartins, chaffinches, greater, spotted and green woodpeckers, herons, kingfishers, owls, kestrels, gold crests, sparrow hawks, buzzards and of course starlings and magpies.

Butterflies recently spotted are:
Red admirals, tortoiseshells, peacocks, holly blues, brimstones, large and small whites, orange tips, small heaths, meadow browns, green veined whites. The Astwick 'quarry' is at times full of flutter.
Some mammals to be found are:
Muntjac and fallow deer, foxes, rabbits, hares, voles, stoats, grey squirrels and badgers.
Some wild flowers to look for are:
White and black bryony, knapweed, common field speedwell, poppies, varieties of thistle, scarlet pimpernel, buttercups, sorrel, bindweed, campion , cleaver, cow parsley, herb robert and scabious etc.

For bats such as natterers, whiskered bats and pipistrelles look in the vicinity of the church and High Street at dusk in the summer. Enjoy your walks in and around Croughton and do take the opportunity to visit the church with its medieval wall paintings while you are here. Near the church is an interesting Dovecot and in Mill Lane an Old Mill, without its wheel since the 1880s, but standing on a site where a mill has existed since the Domesday Book. It is still possible to work out where the old ponds for this mill were and the changed course of the stream. You will also see from many of the walks the modern 'Golf Balls' at the American communications base in existence since 1880 which replaced the RAF airfield opened for wartime use in 1940.