Saturday, 18 Apr 2026
A warm, sunny day with little wind. Yet still no great numbers of butterflies, and still the usual suspects, Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni), Peacock (Aglais io), Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) and Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus). The Green Longhorn moth (Adela reaumurella) seemed to be out in even bigger numbers today and swarming again too. The Common Spindle (Euonymus […]
Thursday, 16 Apr 2026
A cloudy morning with intermittent showers, so I waited until after lunch to get onto the Downs. At least the sun was shining, but it was quite windy. Butterfly numbers well down on two days ago with just a few Brimstone and Speckled Wood about, and a single Peacock. Last year was a bumper year […]
Tuesday, 14 Apr 2026
Butterfly numbers are increasing. Good variety today, too. Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) is still the dominant species, but several Peacock (Aglais io), Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) and Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) were seen, as well as single Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi), Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines) and a first of the season Small White (Pieris rapae). Doing my […]
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 […]
Thursday, 9 Apr 2026
Brimstone numbers down today, almost matched by Speckled Wood, these two by far the most dominant of the butterfly species. A bit more variety today, with 5 Peacock, 2 Orange Tip, 1 Comma, and first sightings of the season of just one each of Red Admiral and Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus). Still large numbers of […]
Tuesday, 7 Apr 2026
A beautiful, cloudless sunny day with only a light breeze. Heading for over 20°C and the hottest day of the year so far, and the first day that I have ventured out in short sleeves without a jacket or sweater. These conditions have brought out the butterflies again after 12 days absence, not that there […]
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 […]
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 […]
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) […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Saturday, 10 Jan 2026
Another cold day, but after some persisent rain in the past couple of days all the snow and ice is gone. So, it was back to a search of the woodland for something of interest. Fallen birch trunks and branches proved most profitable, with four photo opportunities. Removing a loose flap of bark on one […]
Tuesday, 6 Jan 2026
As the day-time temperatures since the snow four days ago have stayed only just above freezing, but with the wind-chill factor taken into account below freezing, a lot of that snow is still present. After a really heavy frost and a low of -6°C last night it is frozen, so my morning walk was just […]