Wednesday, 18 Mar 2026
A cloudless, warm morning, with weather forecasters predicting the hottest day of the year so far. The insect population of the Downs has responded. The first Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) butterfly appeared during the warm spell in the last week of February and for a few days the weather coaxed a few more out of hibernation, […]
Thursday, 19 Mar 2026
Yesterday’s warm weather and sunshine continued today, but while there were still a lot of Brimstone on the wing numbers were well down on yesterday. Like yesterday I added a single Comma, this one, though, in pristine condition, as well as 2 Peacock (Aglais io). That leaves only the Red Admiral of the overwintering butterflies […]
Friday, 20 Mar 2026
Today marks the Vernal (Spring) Equinox, the official start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Having spent 40 years south of the Equator I still have to remind myself of that. A cooler morning with hazy sunshine and a touch of light frost in sheltered areas of the Downs. After two days of butterflies flitting […]
Saturday, 21 Mar 2026
Another day of glorious sunshine, but the temperature yet another 1° cooler. While butterflies were all but absent again it was a good day for flies and bees. I had to look no further than the now fully developed catkins of the Goat Willow (Salix caprea). This was where I found the only butterfly of […]
Monday, 23 Mar 2026
Just like two days ago butterflies were all but absent today, with my total seen only 2. However, these were 1 Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) and 1 Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines), with the latter being the first butterfly of the season from those species that overwintered in the pupal form. The Orange Tip chrysalis from which […]
Tuesday, 24 Mar 2026
A very windy and overcast day, so not much in the way of insects on the wing. No butterflies, 2 bumblebees and 1 hoverfly, although there were plenty of small flies around on the woodland paths. Most prominent of the insects now is the Seven-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata), which I found on Cow Parsley (Anthriscus […]
Thursday, 26 Mar 2026
A sunny, but cold day. The March winds continue again limiting the number of butterflies on the wing. Total count was just 2, a second Orange Tip to add my first from three days ago and the first Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) of the season. Hoverflies were represented by a Variable Duskyface Fly (Melanostoma mellinum) […]
Saturday, 28 Mar 2026
Much colder this morning. As I set out the temperature was reported as 8°C (feels like 5°C taking the wind chill into account) and with a wind blowing I thought I may not see too many flying insects. That was true for butterflies, not even one. However, the bees more than made up for this […]
Monday, 30 Mar 2026
A chill wind blowing again this morning, strong enough to make close-up photography quite challenging. Usually, individual leaves can be held reasonably steady to photograph whatever little creature happens to be the subject. Today, though, even a hand-held leaf was still shaking in the stronger gusts of wind. I did manage to get images of […]
Wednesday, 4 Feb 2026
Another of those days when I wished I had the 300 mm lens with me. A Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) perched in full view on a branch no more than 5 m away and let me stop and watch it for a good 15 seconds or so before flying off. In my last post I […]
Sunday, 8 Feb 2026
After three days of what seemed like incessant drizzle I could get out this afternoon with the cameras again. That rain and the recent milder temperatures may have just been the trigger for what I have been waiting for. The female Common Hazel (Corylus avellana) flowers are now starting to appear, not yet on all hazel […]
Monday, 9 Feb 2026
My 90-minute walk this morning seemed destined to become another ‘fungus day’ until I came across this early-emerging Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) queen. She will forage for nectar (not too many flowers available right now beyond gorse and hazel catkins) to restore energy after her winter hibernation before selecting a site to house the next […]
Friday, 13 Feb 2026
Yet another of those days when I wished I had the 300 mm lens with me. It is, though, a case of either/or. Either I carry my two Canons set up for macro shots and for 28-135 mm zoom or I take one camera with 300mm lens and x2 extender, as the weight and bulk […]
Saturday, 14 Feb 2026
First up today, as a follow-on from yesterday’s post I have a further image showing the sepals of the Cherry Plum (Prunus cerasifera) confirming the ID. The image clearly shows that the sepals are reflexed (bent downwards), are blunt-ended and have a fimbriate margin (fringed or ragged edge), all of these factors separating Cherry Plum […]
Monday, 16 Feb 2026
A good walk largely uninterrupted by photo opportunities. Only once did the cameras come out of my shoulder bag, at an oak stump where I noticed some flying insects landing briefly on the flat sawn surface of the stump. The resultant not too great images show a possible non-biting midge, perhaps a Buzzer Midge (Chironomus […]
Tuesday, 17 Feb 2026
The south-eastern corner of the Downs was where I headed this morning, where I found a flock of at least 20 Redwing (Turdus iliacus) foraging in the canopy of the woodland trees. In the woodland itself the English Yew (Taxus baccata) are beginning to bloom, the male trees producing short spikes of small yellowish cones. […]
Friday, 20 Feb 2026
While photographing fungus on a fallen tree trunk, possibly Common Tarcrust (Diatrype stigma), I was aware of a small insect on the back of my hand. It wandered around quite happily, giving me plenty of time to get a good photo. It would seem to be a Cynipid gall wasp, most likely a Striped Pea Gall […]
Saturday, 21 Feb 2026
Found on an ash stump this morning were the early-stage fruiting bodies of a slime mould, possibly Badhamia utricularis. They will eventually mature and turn grey. This slime mould is fungivorous, growing and feeding on various types of fungus. Having recorded my first ever fungus gnat larva just yesterday, I found another in close proximity […]
Monday, 23 Feb 2026
Belmont – Monday, 23 Feb 2026 This morning a Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) was circling over the north-east quadrant of the Downs. As I watched it cruise low over a portion of the woodland it alarmed a feeding flock of around 50 Redwing (Turdus iliacus), which scattered very quickly. There also seemed to be rather […]
Tuesday, 24 Feb 2026
The above average temperature and sunshine of the past two days has brought the first butterfly out of hibernation, a Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni). With early signs of spring a week or so early this year too, Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera), Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) and Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum) were all active on the same […]