NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

One of the great delights of nosing around in vegetation is that you can often come across plants that just shouldn't be there - such as this Perfoliate Honeysuckle, which was climbing up a mature hedgerow on the very edge of Epsom Downs. I would like to take credit for being aware of the 'alien/naturalised' species of Honeysuckle that are present in our countryside, but the truth is that I was shown Perfoliate several years ago in Suffolk, and, as can be seen in the picture taken this morning, it is quite an obvious plant to identify.

This morning was spent on foot - from the front door to the northern edge of Epsom Downs, across the race course to Langley Bottom Farm, then back again. This first part of the walk was dominated by Marbled White butterflies (below). It was only in 1999 that I saw my first one at this particular site, at a time when the species was starting to blaze its way into new areas locally. Since then it has really taken off, with at least 1,000 being counted this morning, the best area being the grassland that runs down along the road between the Grandstand and Langley Vale. There were moments when I must have seen 300+ butterflies in view at the same time, dancing around this grassy slope in a throwback to days gone by - mostly Marbled Whites but also good numbers of Meadow Browns and up to six Dark Green Fritillaries. A wildlife experience cannot be measured by volume alone, although there are times when sheer numbers can grab hold of you by the ears and shake you to attention. This was su...

It was too nice an afternoon to stay indoors and watch Brazil v Costa Rica, so I popped up to the farmland at Langley Vale, home to a wonderful arable flora. I didn't stay all that long and mostly checked the edge of the field where Field Gromwell (below) grows. It is still doing well, with maybe 100+ plants along the 100m section that I checked. It is aways worth checking the fields by Nohome Farm, where a profusion of flower is almost a certainty. Today's display was dominated by Ox-eye Daisy (top).

I have a list of 'target' plants, mostly of species that occur in the south-east of England and which I have yet to see. So far this year I have been able to seek a few of them out, the most pleasing of which have been Clustered Clover and Wild Liquorice. Yesterday another one of them became reality, with White Horehound (above) at Arundel Park. Only two plants were found, both at the top of a steep chalky slope where the ground had been disturbed by rabbits. The area around Arundel offers plenty of varied habitat, including wetland. Along the River Arun, and the adjacent wetlands, a fine cross-section of plants were found, including Arrowhead, Marsh Woundwort, Brooklime, Brookweed, Blue-water Speedwell and Amphibious Bistort. Also of note were a few spikes of Annual Beard Grass. Annual Beard Grass - an rare relatively easy grass to identify Arrowhead Marsh Woundwort - a magnificent flower

Stewart, over at the excellent Stewchat/Boulmer Birder/From the Notebook blog, has used the medium of Twitter to canvass opinion: Many of you are Natural History #Bloggers . I am wondering how Twitter and Facebook has affected your blog output? Im wondering if my blog has had its day, its been going 12 yrs with 750,000 views... Comments please. Now, what is becoming obvious to me is that many of the blogs that I really enjoy - those that are a mixture of natural history observation that is laced with humour and entertainment - are withering on the vine. The bloggers concerned are either phasing, getting fed up or cannot find the time to craft posts. It can be a bit of a chore at times to pump this stuff out, and that is exactly what we shouldn't do - pump it out. First up, why did we start blogging in the beginning? A few possibilities - the novelty of being able to contact like-minded folks across the globe; a platform to share thoughts and sightings; a vent for our frustra...

...are apparently just two of the toxins to be found in Deadly Nightshade, the North Downs very own package of poison. Although the roots carry the most potent doses, the whole plant is pretty noxious and you would be a fool to pick, chew, lick or digest any of it. And if you do, while you're at it, why not find a gang of adders to cosy up to just to increase the risk of hospitalisation.

This is a plant that had eluded me - I'd searched the well-known Surrey site at Brockham Quarry several times, but had failed - that is until this morning. Thanks to a combination of scrub clearance and some kind and helpful directions, I was able to pay my respects to a sizeable clump (several square metres) just off of the footpath above Brockham Quarry, with a further plant some 10m away. It was a larger and more robust species than I expected and has become a firm favourite. There must be more to find...

.. you could be in for a nasty surprise. And the same could be said if you mooch around in long grass. For, my friends, we are in the 'tick season', those tiny ectoparasite arachnids that feed on the blood of mammals - and, by mammals, that does include us! They will crawl up your legs, find a dark and warm place (thighs, waist and, er, other regions) and then start to take a slow, long drink. It could be hours later (or even days) that the feasting tick will be noticed, as before they become engorged with your blood they can be but the size of a poppy seed, but after a few days will swell to the size of a small pea. And if you do find one, do not panic - they can be removed, with a special tick device or pointed tweezers. Apparently square-ended tweezers are not recommended (as you do not necessarily get all of the tick out with them) although I've never had any problem with them in doing the job, and I've just removed 22 of the little bastards from my body over t...

The Surrey Hawfinch irruption paper has been updated, with Wes Attridge's ringing data added. Please click on this link to download. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hdNvbUFWeK-S8gLypqlokEmYQAY8KiI_/view?usp=sharing

Close to Elstead, on the banks of the River Wey, is situated a gem of a Surrey Wildlife Trust reserve. Thundry Meadows is largely comprised of water meadows and Alder carr, habitats that I rarely spend time in. My visit today was largely to try and find White-barred Clearwing, which has been recorded here in the past. Despite good weather, the lures remained un-visited. It was good to get down with the plants, with much head-scratching involved at an assemblage that I do not immerse myself into very often. Highlights included plenty of Marsh Cinquefoil (above), Common Valerian, Fen Bedstraw, Fine-leaved Water-dropwort and Bogbean. I need to come back and spend time trying to come to terms with the sedges, rushes and grasses - groups that I have shamefully neglected.

A first for the garden last night in the form of a Great Oak Beauty (above) that absolutely dwarfed the Willow Beauties around it. The rest of the catch was also interesting, with a Brindled White-spot only the second garden record, plus other 'nice to see species' such as Peach Blossom, Figure of Eighty (below) and Varied Coronet. This afternoon I took my pheromone lures off to Headley Heath in a search for both White-barred Clearwing (failed) and Large Red-belted Clearwing (success, to CUL lure, in an area of birch tree stumps).

The photograph above was taken this morning from the Thames tow-path at Ham in Surrey. It is looking north towards Richmond Hill, a place that my wife would like to move to. The one big flaw in her plan is our lack of the £3-5 million needed to secure even the most modest of houses looking down on the river... My visit was botanically-themed, and I was keen to take myself out of my comfort zone and try to identify what I could on the river's edge, footpaths and nearby meadows. It had its moments, mostly courtesy of a few naturalised species. I was, however, disappointed with the time spent on Ham Lands, a sizeable grassy reserve to which I had access to a species list whose highlights I largely failed to find. It didn't help that I stumbled into a 'gay meeting place' and quickly left what looked like a promising (for plants!) area. I'm not in the least bit homophobic but do find these areas unnerving to be in, especially when 'loitering with intent' in ...

Bedstraws are not the most showy of plants. In fact, they are pretty nondescript members of the botanical world, easily overlooked and not straightforward to identify. I was made aware of a couple of rare bedstraws close by to me here in Surrey, so with a morning to spare I went to take a look. First up was Slender Bedstraw ( Gallium pumilum ) on Colley Hill. This species is becoming very rare indeed, but a few hundred plants are currently on show. I was able to find some Hedge Bedstraw nearby to get my eye in, with the pumilum being much slenderer, longer and narrower leaved (above), with some of the leaves exhibiting the characteristic backward-curved prickles, a hand-lens being essential to see them. The flowers were difficult to photograph in the breeze (below). I also fancy I saw some long-leaved Hedge Bedstraw (ssp erectum ?) It wasn't all small-white-jobs, with the Meadow Clary, caged and at its only Surrey station,  in fine flower, plus a single healthy looking G...

I don't know why it has taken me until now, but I have never before assembled personal county plant lists. 90% of time spent botanising has been in my home county of Surrey, with most of the remaining 10% being in Kent and Sussex (with Dorset and Hampshire deserving an honourable mention). I have just completed the Surrey list (below), which has had the affect of inspiring me to seek out a few of the many glaring omissions! I still need to add precise data for the first date of recording to some species, but that can wait. It is also enjoyable going through old notebooks to check such mundane things as to whether or not I have seen Lesser Swine-cress in Dorset. I have hours more fun ahead of me to get the other county lists under way. Above is another one of those naturalised species - Californian Poppy at Priest Hill - used here as an excuse to pretty up an otherwise monochrome post and act as a red rag to those who believe such species to be a blight on our landscape. Me? I lo...

I like nothing better than a patch of waste ground full of naturalised (or escaped) plants. They are generally bright and colourful and add a splash of vibrancy to what can be pretty forlorn places. Whether they appeared thanks to dumped soil, fly tipped waste or just bloody-minded opportunism, all are welcome. There is a patch of hard-standing at Canons Farm in front of Lunch Wood, where over the years mounds of concrete, tarmac and earth have been placed to deter squatters entering and setting up camp. This morning there was a fine show of plants amongst the undulating ground, with multi-coloured Foxgloves, Columbines of various shades, a blowsy and vibrant dark-blue geranium, Love-in-a-mist (above) and Fox-and-cubs (below). They beat Hogweed and Stinging Nettles! Apart from a Hobby and two singing Yellowhammers (below) it was quiet bird-wise, plus a rather stunning Alabonia geoffrella (bottom). I doubt if there is a better looking micro moth out there.

I like counting things - birds, plants, moths, butterflies, it doesn't matter. I'll even count my books, CDs, fingers and toes if there is nothing else on offer. So when confronted with a fine show of Man Orchids on one of the lower slopes of Box Hill this morning, I started counting... a minimum of 350 spikes was the not to shabby total. I was also pleased to find my earliest ever Meadow Brown. Afterwards a quick visit was made to the eastern-end of Denbigh's Hillside where I was able to count more stuff - Adonis Blues - with at least 45 being present, but only a small part of the slope was searched. Quite a few were resting on bare ground, but a stiff breeze made photography a little challenging. Only a couple of Bee Orchids (bottom) were found.