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

Tuesday, 2 Dec 2025

After the very wet weather of the past few days, the ground on the Downs is saturated and there are ...

Wednesday, 3 Dec 2025

Another search today for overwintering insects and yet more Birch Catkin Bugs (Kleidocerys resedae) found. It would seem that a ...

Friday, 5 Dec 2025

It was a shorter walk than usual today as I wanted to get back to a spot where I had ...

Saturday, 6 Dec 2025

Leaf litter and dead branches and twigs seem to be the place to find things now. So, I found a ...

Wednesday, 10 Dec 2025

Damper and damper, even the leaf litter in the woodland is now distinctly soggy. I was only just onto the ...

Thursday, 11 Dec 2025

Lovely sunshine but a windy day. Both a Kestrel and a Buzzard were cruising over the main grassland area, the ...

Saturday, 13 Dec 2025

Lovely sunshine again, but much colder this morning. The temperature firmly in wintry single digit territory. I tried peeling back ...

Monday, 15 Dec 2025

I’m sure they have been around for a while already, but I saw my first small group of Redwing (Turdus ...

Tuesday, 16 Dec 2025

A struggle to find anything new today. After locating some Common Striped Woodlouse (Philoscia muscorum) on a rotting branch, a ...

Friday, 19 Dec 2025

In the past week I have come across many small groups of Birch Catkin Bugs (Kleidocerys resedae) huddled together overwintering ...

Saturday, 20 Dec 2025

A heavy dew, a patchy light ground frost and some early short-lived mist made for a very damp start to ...

Tuesday, 30 Dec 2025

As I started my walk this morning heading towards Sutton Lane, up the track parallel to Downs Road, I was ...

Wednesday, 31 Dec 2025

A review of my 2025 posts on Banstead Downs First the numbers. This year I have photographed and recorded in ...