Explore the diverse flora and fauna on the Downs from season to season through personal observations and photographs

Tuesday, 1 Jul 2025

Second scorcher in a row. I even aborted my walk at 09:30 as it was a good 4-5 degrees hotter ...
/

Thursday, 3 Jul 2025

We had 2 hours of rain yesterday morning but still need a lot more. On the butterfly front there were ...
/

Friday, 4 Jul 2025 – Polesden Lacey

Just for a change of scenery, I paid a visit today to the National Trust property of Polesden Lacey near ...
/

Saturday, 5 Jul 2025

Heavily overcast and breezy morning so conditions not great for photography. Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) butterfly numbers increasing dramatically, probably the ...
/

Wednesday, 9 Jul 2025

An unexpected curtailment of this morning’s walk, but 30 minutes was enough for me to locate a 22-spotted ladybird (Psyllobora ...
/

Friday, 11 Jul 2025

As I mentioned on 1st July it is becoming a much more uncommon sight to see a Song Thush, but ...
/

Saturday, 12 Jul 2025

Latest butterfly to appear and in good numbers is the Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus britanna), with other new insects in ...
/

Monday, 14 Jul 2025

What a start to my walk today! Just 3 minutes after setting foot on the Downs I realised that there ...
/

Wednesday, 16 Jul 2025

It is still the most prominent butterfly and today I found a Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) carrying a parasitic Trombidium breei ...
/

Friday, 18 Jul 2025

The first Brown Argus (Aricia agestis) seen since 1st May – or maybe I’ve been writing them off as female ...
/

Monday, 21 Jul 2025

Some good heavy rain in the past 2 days but the ground has been so dry that all was soaked ...
/

Tuesday, 22 Jul 2025

Chalkhill Blue is still present in amazingly large numbers. New sightings included Wavy-barred Sable (Pyrausta nigrata), Tortoise Shield Bug (Eurygaster ...
/

Friday, 25 Jul 2025

Two days of heavy showers has seen a lush greenness return to the Downs. Chalkhill Blue (Polyomattus coridon) still predominates, ...
/

Sunday, 27 Jul 2025

A very overcast day and I was out much earlier than usual so not too much activity. Despite the conditions ...
/

Monday, 28 Jul 2025

Good numbers of Brown Argus present today, outnumbered by Small Copper, which are in much greater numbers than recent days ...
/

Wednesday, 30 Jul 2025

Another very overcast morning after a few overnight rain showers, which didn’t stop me adding several new insects to the ...
/