May 2025

Many of the dandelions now have full heads of seeds - ‘dandelion clocks’. The strong breeze today has them blowing ...

The Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) is now blooming across the Downs, the May blossom adding a touch of colour to the ...

Some very early Small Heath butterflies (Coenonympha pamphilus) are on the wing today, while an English Oak (Quercus robur) tree ...

Tuesday, 6 May 2025 A good day for exercise and not much else. With a strong northeaster blowing there were ...

Three more new insect sightings today - Small Yellow Underwing (Panemeria tenebrata) moth, Four-spotted Oak Bug (Dryophilocoris flavoquadrimaculatus) and Wayward ...

It was a good day for insects today. Forest Bug (Pentatoma rufipes), Lucerne Bug (Adelphocoris lineolatus), Common Dance Fly (Empis ...

Both Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) and Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) butterflies are out in good numbers today, as are Common ...

Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages), Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi), which I finally managed to photograph, and Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) were ...

Something different today. I spent the morning at the Warnham Nature Reserve, near Horsham in West Sussex. I will just ...

Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) and Small Blue (Cupido minimus) are the most numerous butterflies in the open areas with a good ...

Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni), Small Blue (Cupido minimus) and Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) butterflies are still around in good numbers. The ...

I have only heard a Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) calling on the Downs twice in the last 10 years, but there ...

The Cuckoo was calling in the same area again today, but still no luck locating him. There were another 4 ...

The Cuckoo has gone silent (or maybe just gone). Batman Hoverfly (Myathropa florea) was out in large numbers today and ...

Garden Chafer (Phyllopertha horticola) beetles are out in large numbers and I have my first sighting this spring of Southern ...

Insects added today are the Marbled White Spot (Protodeltote pygarga) moth, a hoverfly, the Sun Fly (Helophilus pendulus), the Patchwork ...

It has been very windy today with no butterflies and very few other insects on the wing, but I did ...

It was windy again, with a very gusty southwester blowing, so I stuck to the woodland paths and those along ...

A second Eurasian Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), one of the summer migrant birds, was noted this morning. It was very windy ...

Another of those very windy days that was good for exercise and not much else, though I did manage to ...