Due to Covid-19 we have had to cancel this course, we hope you will find an event later in the year that you can attend.
This one day course will give you an introduction to grasshoppers and bushcrickets. You will go away knowing the difference between the two groups, what to look for in identifying the species. We will explore their ecology and life histories.
As a group the grasshoppers and bushcrickets are manageable for someone with an interest in natural history to get to know in a day. You don’t need any prior knowledge of the group.
There will be a mix of presentations, fieldwork and identification using various guides. There are only a few species and many are quite common and can be found in most habitats. You will learn how to distinguish between bushcrickets and grasshoppers and find out about their lifecycles and ecology. You will get to identify grasshoppers and bushcrickets collected in the field and gain a good understanding of what makes them jump.
Tutor: John Biglin
John Biglin has had a passion for the natural world since an early age and has been involved with land management and wildlife for most of his career. During that career he has had jobs which spanned work as diverse as museum curator, habitat surveyor, urban wildlife project manager and head of parks for a local authority. Currently he runs his own consultancy (www.anglianparksandwildlife.co.uk). As an experienced ecologist and land manager John has set up and run urban wildlife projects, surveyed thousands of acres of habitat, established local nature reserves and managed almost every kind of natural open space within lowland Britain both on the ground and at a strategic and policy level. He has a real enthusiasm for wildlife which is based on knowledge and experience whilst at the same time being quite infectious. The enthusiasm comes over quite strongly in his work with people doing things like guided walks, talks and radio shows. In natural history his special interest is British insects, though he also has a thorough working knowledge of our native plants, animals and habitats. He is a keen supporter of the arts, a musician, photographer and keen volunteer on things as varied as being a green flag award judge and running historic tours.With the generous support of the Suffolk Biodiversity and Information Service, along with the Suffolk Naturalists Society, we are able to provide bursary funding for this course for those students who meet the criteria. For more information please go to Bursaries for Natural History Courses.
What's Included
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Expert Tuition -
Free Wi-Fi -
Hot and Cold Drinks -
In Course Transport -
Picnic Lunch
Before You Attend
What to Bring
- Please wear stout footwear and bring waterproofs, sun tan lotion and a hat. We will be out in the field for part of the day and it may be hot. Bring a bottle for water too.
- All equipment is provided but please bring nets and plastic pots if you have them and prefer to use your own.
- Pens, pencils and a notebook to make notes and a camera would be useful too.
- We don’t usually kill any of the animals collected on the course but if you have any dead ones you wish to have a look at during the day then please bring them along.
Sorry this course has ended