NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

On its own... ... and side-by-side with the normal blue 

For some daft reason I found myself at Canons Farm at the ungodly hour of 05.00... a calling Tawny Owl slightly convinced me that it was all worthwhile, but it slowly went downhill from there, with just a couple of Greylag Geese (patch goodie), a Swift, three House Martins, 4 Swallows and a Wheatear trying desperately hard to turn ornithological water into wine. It didn't work... However, at times like these I can put another of my natural history hats on, so the 'botanical' one came out and I went to check the freshly ploughed strip at Fames Rough. This disturbance is irregularly carried out to help maintain the two ultra rare species that grow there - Ground Pine and Cut-leaved Germander. And the good news is that they are both present again this year, although the 11 GP and 3 C-LG plants that I found were on last years strip, roughly in the same place where the GP grew in 2015. This made me feel very happy indeed, as I understand that both species are not doing very we...

Today, I didn't intend to spend any time looking at plants along the edges of fields, but ultimately I couldn't resist it. Walking along the footpath that snakes around the large field between Holly Lane East and Park Downs, at the meeting point of several footpaths, the crops had not taken, so I got down on my knees and searched the stunted flora. Sharp-leaved Fluellen was not uncommon and several plants of Small Toadflax also caught my eye. A nice start! Next up was Perrotts Farm and the field directly north of Ruffett Wood (called Pipit Meadow by the birding fraternity) which was exhibiting a bare strip at its north-western end - I needed no encouragement to check it! This too was of interest, with more Sharp-leaved Fluellen being found, but also a great deal of Dwarf Spurge (above) - this surprised me as I have not seen this species at this locality before - John Peacock will know of its historical status on the farm. I was quite close to Fames Rough and felt it wou...

Ground Pine This was quite a small plant - I have seen virtual clumps! Cut-leaved Germander This afternoon I visited Fames Rough, nestled along Chipstead Bottom in Surrey. The ploughed strip is certainly producing the goods as no less than 22 plants of Cut-leaved Germander were found (none in flower) and, best of all, a single flowering Ground Pine. The strip was smothered in both Sharp-leaved and Round-leaved Fluellens. Well worth a visit.

This morning found me haunting the chalky slopes of Chipstead Bottom, as one of a band of fellow botanists and all-round naturalists who were part of Peter Wakeham's organised walk. As usual, Peter shared with us his knowledge of the area and expertise with the plants - you always come away the richer and wiser from his forays. And there were a few familiar faces in our number: local boys David Campbell, Ian Magness and Paul Goodman; Beddington absconders Nick Gardener and Peter Alfrey; plus I finally got to meet Bill Dykes, fresh from his 'second for Britain' micro moth success. I began a bit earlier in the day walking the rides of Banstead Woods in the hope of a Purple Emperor. They have been seen already this year on Bookham Common, but I drew a blank. Compensation came in the form of plenty of Marbled Whites, a firm favourite of mine. Other lepidoptera that gatecrashed the botanical party was a Blackneck (disturbed from vegetation but then on show for all to see), ...

An eight-hour stint in the Canons Farm - Banstead Woods - Chipstead Bottom area. The NE wind was chilly, the light constantly dull and the drizzle kept off until late afternoon. This did nothing for bird song or migrants, so it was just as well that my main aim today was to look for plants. There was an awful lot in flower, with some species, (Bluebell, Ground-ivy, Crosswort and Germander Speedwell) carpeting the ground in some places. I was pleased to come across a single Solomon's Seal and the Fames Rough Fly Orchids were already in flower. It wasn't a day for inverts, but I did come across the uncommon (but expanding) Bryony Ladybird . Bryony Ladybird - if a duffer like me can stumble across this species twice locally then they must be increasing Ground Ivy - carpeting the ground in many places Dryad's Saddle - if only all fungi was this big and obvious

I have to admit to 'ticking' a terribly common micro-moth today, one that swarms on gorse and of which I most probably saw three figures worth this morning - Cydia ulicetana . I can almost feel the mocking looks coming my way from fellow lepidopterists and pan-listers who find it hard to believe that someone - such as me - who pretends to have at least half a finger on the pulse of our wildlife can have got so far in this game without knowingly having clapped eyes on something so hideously common. I saw it on Banstead Downs by the way... Later in the afternoon I joined David Campbell for a most agreeable wander over Canons Farm, Banstead Woods and Fames Rough. The birding was hard work, but we did see Dingy Skipper and Green Hairstreak at Fames Rough. Green Hairstreak, on Wild Strawberry at Fames Rough Cydia ulicetana - shame on you Gale... Gorse Shieldbug - dig the red antennae!

I was delighted to come across this ploughed strip of land at Fames Rough, Chipstead this morning. The Downlands Project (if it was they) are to be congratulated for undertaking this task, to ensure that we can enjoy another year of flowering Ground Pine (below) and Cut-leaved Germander. Both species have a long history at the site, but have periodically 'disappeared' due to lack of ground disturbance, which they both need as they are poor competitors, although their seed can remain buried (and viable) for many years. The strip measures approximately 100 x 5 meters. I will return throughout the summer with some anticipation. Ground Pine - picture taken on the North Downs several years ago

A visit to Fames Rough to check on the rare plants was made yesterday morning. The Cut-leaved Germander has gone over, each plant now a ghostly pale coffee colour that makes it stand out a mile. Several of the Ground Pines still exhibited the odd flower (as above) with most plants looking washed out and yellowish. I came across a large patch of Apple Mint back on Canons Farm which has, up until now, evaded my detection. I then spent the next ten minutes wandering around sniffing the crushed leaves between my fingers - nice...

Nestled in amongst woodland along the south-facing slope of Chipstead Bottom is an unassuming strip of chalk downland known as Fames Rough. To most botanists that name will immediately bring to mind two very rare plants - Cut-leaved Germander and Ground Pine. It was during World War Two (when this strip of land was ploughed up for the war effort) that the buried seeds of both of these plants were kicked back into life and flowered profusely. From that time onwards a watchful eye has been kept on these rare plants. Neither of them like their habitat to scrub up, and will head back underground until the top soil is disturbed to create the open sward that they need. Regeneration of the surrounding vegetation has lead to spells in which they have largely failed to appear. In 2000 I can remember being overwhelmed by the number of Cut-leaved Germander plants present. Conditions were then good for them. However, two years ago I failed to find either species. The Downlands Project...