NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

Denbigh's Hillside on a warm and sunny morning is a delightful place to be. It has the lot - scenery, plants, butterflies and birds. The main purpose of my visit was to monitor the butterflies that were still on the wing. We are coming to the end of many of their flight times, and, for some species, today may well have been my last chance to observe them in 2019. Numbers were quite low considering how good the weather conditions were, with the commonest 'blue' being Adonis (although they still didn't reach double figures and were by and large tatty) but in contrast the only two Silver-spotted Skippers seen were still very fresh. It was a good morning for raptors. At least 15 Common Buzzards were in the area, and among them, for a good 10-15 minutes, was a female Goshawk, loafing around before coming in directly over my head and off towards Ranmore Common. This was 'top-trumped' by a Honey-buzzard that appeared with a Common, but then peeled away an...

There are a several species of UK butterfly that could lay claim to the accolade of being the most arresting. My opinion as to which is changes on a daily basis throughout the year, although it's hard not to consider the Adonis Blue as a serious contender. The blue is shimmering - you could describe it as sky blue or Coventry City football shirt blue - neither do it justice. There were a minimum of 35 of these jewels battling the stiff NE breeze on Denbigh's Hillside this lunchtime, along with fair numbers of Dingy Skippers and a few Grizzleds. Marvellous. Three years ago I was able to show author and professional wildlife guide Jon Dunn a rather special circle of Bird's-nest Orchids, which were dramatically exhibiting the species dependence on its underground fungal partner. I went back to have a look at them this morning but was saddened to find clearance work had left rutted earth and torn branches exactly where the orchids had once stood. Fortunately the area is...

I'm indebted to Gordon and Mieko Hay who alerted me to the presence of this magnificent Pasqueflower on the chalky slopes of Denbigh's Hillside. Whether it is here down to human hand or wind-blown seed, I do not know. However it got here it is more than welcome as far as I'm concerned. I have seen a single, lonely plant on chalk downland before, at Martin Down on the Wiltshire/Hampshire border. That is considered to be native. As for this Surrey specimen? Wiser men and women than me will have an opinion.

After yesterday's thrush-fest it would have been greedy to expect seconds, and I didn't get any. A dawn start at Denbigh's Hillside scored highly on the atmospheric stakes but low on visible migration, with just a scattering of Redwing and Siskin being the highlights, although a late Tree Pipit stole the honours. Canons Farm was next up, and was dreadful, with just two Stonechats breaking up an otherwise dire few hours. Of note were a single Clouded Yellow and an emergence of thousands of ladybirds, all of those that I examined being Harlequin. Today's photographic offering comes courtesy of Blue Fleabane, glorious in the sunshine at the bottom of Denbigh's slope.

On arrival at Denbigh's Hillside at 06.30hrs I was confronted by a most arresting sight. The lower valleys were all fog bound, giving off the illusion of a vast inland sea. The video above, and the images below, really do not do it justice. Birding wise a pleasant morning and early afternoon, with a Goshawk, three Red Kites, 12+ Common Buzzards, three Stonechats, 20+ Chiffchaffs and four Ravens. To the sound of cranking Ravens and mewing Buzzards and Kites I was delighted to watch at least 10 Clouded Yellows patrolling the slopes, with the odd butterfly stopping to nectar (below). And last, but not least, a weedy strip in one of the fields beneath the hills held Broad-leaved Spurge, with the fruits exhibiting the tell-tale warts (below). My luck was in as I checked just the one plant!

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.

An 'up and down' wander along the open slopes of Denbigh's Hillside and White Down was the order of today. The sun couldn't decide whether to come out or stay in, and a persistent westerly wind didn't make for ideal conditions to watch butterflies in, but it remained warm and there was plenty to observe. The Denbigh's sward shimmered with the milky blue of at least 400 Chalkhill Blues (above), with a couple of pristine male Adonis and 80+ Common thrown in for good measure. White Down was where the Silver-spotted Skipper action was taking place (above), at least 20 being found. They did not want to settle, and I was lead on a merry dance several times trying to follow them in flight, which I find difficult to do - they often seem to disappear into thin air! There were Red Kites on view throughout my four hours on site, including a group of three that gave close views, including one bird that, obviously curious as to what I was, circled around me s...