HEREFORD: I often see the white owl in the early morning mist, skimming over the grass in search of mice. I fear the big barn is too busy a place for her now, and there are so many good ratting cats.

Grey squirrels are another matter, and seem to have no enemies. I hear that the damage they are doing to young trees in some places is serious. The agricultural committee is offering three cartridges for every grey squirrel tail, but lack of time is the trouble; farmers have none to spend watching for squirrels and certainly none to traffic in tails. The harmless red squirrel has gone from here; it never seems to survive once the grey get established.

Bumblebees, at any rate the smaller ones, seem to have a longer working season than honeybees. Possibly the English wild bee is hardier than the Italian bee. A most interesting insect is the bumblebee moth; its appearance mimics that of a bumblebee. It has no sting. Birds seem to know that a bumblebee is to be avoided, and they would have to be very clever to distinguish the difference between this moth and a bumblebee. It is possible that seen upside down the rings on a peacock butterfly represent eyes on a face that would frighten away a bird; there is a moth (foreign) that represents faithfully the eyes and face and colouring of an owl.

Guardian Country diary, 11 Sept 1951.