Friday, 10 Jul 2026
Not quite as hot as yesterday and a little more insect activity. Another good day for butterflies too. The Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) remains the most abundant, but a sudden surge in numbers puts the Chalk Hill Blue (Lysandra coridon) in second place. Meadow Brown and Ringlet are still fairly prominent and I noted maybe a […]
Wednesday, 8 Jul 2026
This was essentially just a long hot walk. Apart from butterflies, greenbottles, flesh flies and the odd hoverfly, as well as the continuing Red Soldier Beetle invasion, there was very little insect activity today. The grass of the common is already beginning to take strain under the baking heat, which is forecast to last for […]
Sunday, 5 Jul 2026
Two weeks between visits at this time of year makes a huge difference. The grass is almost twice as high. Much of the hogweed is now my height and going to seed already. The grassland has a profusion of yellow flowers – buttercups, St John’s Worts, Lady’s Bedstraw, Rock Rose, Horseshoe Vetch and various yellow […]
Friday, 3 Jul 2026 – New Forest and adjacent areas
Just back today from a week away, based in West Wellow, Hampshire, on the north-eastern edge of the New Forest. It proved a good base for walks not only in the New Forest and locally along the River Test, but also on the Dorset coast and near Salisbury in Wiltshire. As I have done previously […]
Saturday, 20 Jun 2026
A very warm, humid start to the day (20°C feels like 23°C already at 09:00) with largely overcast skies and the sun only occasionally peeping through. Not much wind though, so I was expecting that the butterflies would be out today. Oh boy, were they! Literally hundreds of Marbled White, dozens of Meadow Brown and […]
Monday, 15 Jun 2026
Back to the overcast breezy conditions again this morning. Only butterflies on the wing were Meadow Brown and Marbled White, still by far the most numerous, with dozens of each. The other butterflies seen were all disturbed from their resting places in the low vegetation as I walked past. These comprised Common Blue, Brown Argus, […]
Saturday, 13 Jun 2026
The butterflies are back, in such large numbers that I counted species today, not individual butterflies. Meadow Brown and Marbled White are the most numerous, with dozens of each. Other species noted were Speckled Wood, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Small Blue, Small Heath, Red Admiral, Large Skipper, Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris), my first Dark Green Fritillary […]
Wednesday, 10 Jun 2026
After five days of very unseasonal weather, with gusty winds and intermittent showers (I don’t like being caught in a sudden heavy shower with a camera slung over each shoulder) I decided it was time to get back onto the Downs this morning. However, with overcast, breezy conditions still, there was not too much insect […]
Friday, 5 Jun 2026
Four days since my last excursion onto the Downs, during which time there has been some much-welcomed rain. Hogweed flowers on which I was photographing insects at waist height just those four days ago are now eye-level! I spotted my first Common Swift (Apus apus) of the summer over the main grassland, at least 4 […]
Monday, 1 Jun 2026
Slightly cooler today and the butterfly numbers continue to increase, although I did not see a single Brimstone. Even without the Brimstone, I managed to see 10 different species. Speckled Wood still patrols the woodland paths and edges, but numbers of Common Blue, Small Heath, Brown Argus and Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus) are all up […]
Saturday, 30 May 2026
As the hot weather continues unabated there has been a dramatic increase in butterfly numbers today. For once Brimstone was not the most numerous, that honour went to Common Blue. Brimstone were hard pressed too, to outnumber Brown Argus and Small Heath. These were the dominant four species along with but a single sighting of […]
Sunday, 24 May 2026
Like yesterday, an early start with the temperature over 20°C by 09:00. Bright sunshine and only a light breeze too, but butterfly numbers were no better than yesterday. Brimstone still dominated, but there has been a dramatic increase in Small Blue (Cupido minimus) numbers (I stopped counting at 10). There were a few Speckled Wood […]
Saturday, 23 May 2026
With the temperature already hitting 20°C by 09:00, I returned from my walk today around the time I’d normally be starting out. Sunny again, but only a gentle breeze today, so much better conditions for insects on the wing. There were definitely more butterflies about, with Brimstone and Holly Blue still dominant, but an additional […]
Saturday, 16 May 2026
With weather conditions the same as yesterday I was again expecting to see very few insects on the wing. Unsurprisingly most were seen at rest on leaves. The total number of butterflies did not exceed 10, but 6 species were seen, 4 Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus), 2 Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta), and one each of […]
Friday, 15 May 2026
A largely overcast, cool day with a fresh breeze, not boding too well for insects on the wing. Nor did I see a single butterfly on the wing yet oddly found two at rest on a patch of Cow Parsley, each the first of its species that I have noted this season. They were Common […]
Tuesday, 5 May 2026
A bit more sunshine today, so the butterflies are back, but not many. Just a handful of Brimstone, Speckled Wood, and Holly Blue, and one each of Green Hairstreak, Painted Lady, and Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages). Like yesterday, it was leaf searching that provided most of my photo opportunities from a variety of different plants. […]
Friday, 1 May 2026
The month of May began with the hottest day of the year so far and the grass on the Downs starting to take a bit of strain from the lack of recent rain. The ‘May blossom’ on the Common Hawthorn is starting to add a splash of colour to the trees, albeit white. Still the […]
Wednesday, 29 Apr 2026
Warm, mostly sunny, but a very strong wind. So, I wasn’t expecting too many butterflies on the wing. Total numbers were down on two days ago, and Brimstone still dominates, with the rest almost all Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus), but for single Green-veined White (Pieris napi), Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) and Grizzled Skipper (no photo […]
Monday, 27 Apr 2026
The weather very much the same as my last walk on the Downs two days ago. Disappointingly still no increase in butterfly activity. Brimstone still dominate, with a supporting cast of Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria), Holly Blue and Green Hairstreak. I did get glimpses of what might have been one of the Skippers and an […]
Wednesday, 22 Apr 2026
Not a cloud in the sky but quite windy. Despite the wind a better day for butterflies with dozens of Brimstone on the wing. Surprisingly the next most abundant, I stopped counting at 10, was Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi), along with 5 or 6 Holly Blue, a pair of Speckled Wood and a solitary Painted […]