Monday, 13 Apr 2026
Perhaps I headed to the Downs a bit too early this morning. A very cold night again and a heavy dew, so not too many insects on the wing as they need to warm up before becoming active. Not too surprising that I only saw two butterflies, both Speckled Wood. Sycamore leaves were the chosen […]
Friday, 10 Apr 2026
A drop in temperature of 10°C overnight, and even though it was yet another bright day with very light winds the butterflies have disappeared again. My total for this morning was just 2, a single Speckled Wood and surprisingly my first Green-veined White (Pieris napi) of the season. I have noted a few aphids starting to […]
Wednesday, 8 Apr 2026
Another beautiful, cloudless sunny day with only a light breeze. Likely to be hotter than yesterday. Surprisingly though, fewer butterflies around. Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) still the most numerous, but Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) has reappeared in reasonable numbers. Like yesterday a few Peacock (Aglais io) and Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines) about too. A Common Buzzard […]
Saturday, 4 Apr 2026
The first day for quite a while that I have not been able to find anything new to report. So, I will have to be satisfied with posting images of species already recorded on the Downs, hopefully better than the first time. I got the day off to a start with a male Tawny Mining […]
Thursday, 2 Apr 2026
Cooler again and a gusty wind. Largely overcast like yesterday, but what I missed in insects on the wing I made up in what I found on leaves. I began with an unidentified tiny (3.5mm) ‘looper’ or ‘inchworm’ caterpillar of the first larval stage, probably of a Geometer moth (family Geometridae), found on a newly […]
Wednesday, 1 Apr 2026
Warmer weather this morning, and only a light breeze, but annoyingly overcast, which would yet again restrict the insects on the wing. Several first sightings of the season today, including Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum) on Green Alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens), Curled Rose Sawfly (Allantus cinctus) on Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) and Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
Monday, 16 Mar 2026
Today, a search of evergreen leaves turned up this tiny (+/-2mm) sub-adult female(?) Bleeding Heart Spider (Nigma puella) on an ivy leaf. Also found was a tiny cynipid gall wasp on a cherry laurel leaf, which I believe to be an Andricus sp. Species of this genus are responsible for Marble, Artichoke and Knopper galls, among […]
Monday, 9 Mar 2026
Many trees and shrubs are now starting to show leaf buds opening. Most advanced seem to be honeysuckle vines, wild privet shrubs, cherry plum and common hawthorn. The larger trees generally have only a small proportion of their leaf buds ready to leaf. Noticeable, though, is that while established sycamore trees are still only at […]
Wednesday, 4 Mar 2026
Another sunny day, but not much new to report. Still just the same few bee species around and not much else on the wing. After that first flush of Brimstone butterflies I have seen no more. Walking past two Cherry Plum (Prunus cerasifera) trees today I noticed that they looked somewhat different. One, the predominant […]
Monday, 2 Mar 2026
Well spring starts officially at the Spring Equinox, which this year is on 20th March. ‘Meteorological Spring’ started yesterday. This is to make the use of data collected and grouped by calendar months easier to use for year-to-year comparisons. Whichever start date you prefer for spring the weather today and for the next few days […]
Wednesday, 25 Feb 2026
The warmer weather continues and has coaxed more insects into awakening from their winter slumber. After the first sighting of the year yesterday of a single Brimstone butterfly my tally today was 14. Also found were several active Seven-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata), all on brambles. Turning over some of the bramble leaves I spotted what […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Saturday, 31 Jan 2026
A lovely sunny afternoon. The first thing that attracted my attention today was a foraging flock of Redwing (Turdus iliacus) in the tree canopy of the woodland adjacent to Downs Road. This is our smallest member of the thrush family (Turdidae) and a winter visitor. Crossing Sutton Road and entering the clearing there I encountered […]