Thursday, 20 March 2025

During the past 3 weeks or so I have watched the spring flowers coming into bloom on my regular walks into Sutton town centre. First were the crocuses, followed by the daffodils. Then the first of the wildflowers, Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna) the earliest flowering member of the buttercup family, a day or two before […]

Friday, 11 April 2025

A few more butterfly species around today, with one sighting each of Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria), Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) and Small White (Pieris rapae). Sighting of the day, however, after 11 years of walking on Banstead Downs was my first Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus malvae). It was seen in an area that I know supports […]

Thursday, 17 April 2025

A few more rain showers in the past two days but still not enough to coax any new flowers into bloom. The ground is still looking very dry as if there had been no rain at all. I added another new butterfly species to my Downs list, the relatively common Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines brittanica). Another […]

Tuesday, 22 April 2025

What a difference 5 days makes. The trees on the Downs have all leafed and the visual impact of all that greenery is quite stunning. While the trees may be looking very different there is little to add on the wildflower front, with a just few Common Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta), Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) and […]

Monday, 28 April 2025

Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni), Peacock (Aglais io) and Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) butterflies are all now present in large numbers, as is the Dark-edged Bee-fly (Bombylius major). New today were Raspberry Beetle (Byturus ochraceus) swarming all over the dandelion flowers in one area, a Small Green Nettle Weevil (Phyllobius roboretanus) that landed conveniently on the back […]