Tuesday, 6 Oct 2026
A lovely warm and sunny early afternoon on what is billed as our last day of summer temperatures. There are still a few butterflies about. Today’s count was 4, with 2 each of Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) and Speckled Wood. The Small Copper are in very good condition and may be around for at least […]
Tuesday, 26 May 2026
I headed out this morning at 08:45 with the temperature already 24°C and probably heading for a new UK record high temperature for the month of May. The current record was set only yesterday, 34.8°C at Kew Gardens, just 10 miles away as the crow flies. Despite the early hour, a line from one of […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Friday, 2 Jan 2026
At the same point that I had Roe Deer run across the track in front of me just three days ago I had a fox dash across this morning. After yesterday’s frosty start to the New Year it was something much more uncommon on the common today. A pre-dawn snowstorm had dumped a good 2 […]
Thursday, 1 Jan 2026
A Happy New Year to you all! And a frosty one on Banstead Downs, although by the time I got out for a walk the frost was lingering only in a few shady spots, but I managed to get shots of frost encrusting the leaves of a young Red Dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum) and covering a […]
Saturday, 20 Dec 2025
A heavy dew, a patchy light ground frost and some early short-lived mist made for a very damp start to the day on the Downs. Dewdrops dripped from everything …….. hawthorn, holly and even the fungus on rotting logs. With that amount of dew around I decided to spend some time looking under […]
Sunday, 9 Nov 2025
A glorious sunny morning with heavy dew on the grass. Unlike yesterday no insects on the wing, with not even a fly to be seen today. I did though locate a single adult of the UK’s biggest shield bug, the Hawthorn Shield Bug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale), sitting on a holly leaf. It is the […]
Saturday, 8 Nov 2025
Another close encounter of the Goldcrest kind – yet again the wrong camera lens with me! The Downs are looking really colourful now before the trees shed their leaves fully. Everything was dripping wet today after late evening rain yesterday and an early mist this morning. Even the Common Wasps have now disappeared […]
Tuesday, 28 Oct 2025
Leaves are getting yellower and the carpet of fallen leaves is getting thicker. Another bird foraging party today, but this time Goldcrest (Regulus regulus). Unfortunately, I needed my 300 mm lens as the 28 – 135 mm zoom was hopelessly inadequate. I’ll post the image anyway as it the first time I have […]
Friday, 24 Oct 2025
There is a distinctly autumnal look to the Downs now. I encountered a large mixed bird foraging party this morning, comprising Great Tit, Blue Tit and Long-tailed Tit. Jays are still very conspicuous as they build up their winter nut stocks. Yet another new species for the Downs, having previously found it at […]
Thursday, 9 Oct 2025
Common Banded Hoverfly (Syrphus ribesii) and Batman Hoverfly (Myathropa florea) are still the most numerous hoverflies, but I managed to pick out a Plain-faced Drone Fly (Eristalis arbustorum). Both Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) and Seven-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) are about in good numbers, particularly on sycamore and dogwood leaves. I also found a Cucumber Green […]
Monday, 6 Oct 2025
It looks like ‘Fall’ has started. After some rain and very strong winds in the last few days the ground is becoming covered in leaves. It is a great time of year for spider webs too, as the low angle sun picks them out very well. By far the most common insect […]
Sunday, 14 Sep 2025
Exactly 2 weeks since my last walk on the Downs. My wife and I have been away for a while. What a difference in 2 weeks. Summer is gone and with it most of the insects. I walked for an hour, much needed exercise after the short holiday, and my tally of insects was – […]