NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

The end of year blog tidy is underway. Some of my blog links seem to have been inactive for a length of time that suggests that they are no longer maintained, so they have been removed (and if they are awoken at a later date, please let me know). In their place I have added some fresh blood. Please welcome: Madcap pan-lister Seth Gibson  who has found himself living on a Scottish Island for the winter, and between this, and a possible return to the Isles of Scilly in the summer, will regale us with his search to identify every living thing that he comes across. He has no limits... he has no shame... expect a hairy ride. I do have a soft spot for the south and south-west English coast, so am happy to welcome the following blogs into the ND&B fold: Birding Exmouth,   Axe Birding,   Sea & Sky I will be adding a few more over the coming weeks. I broke tradition in 2016 and had no firm targets or plans for my natural history time. 2017 will be different. For th...

Mummy, why are all those people staring at our house? They're birdwatching Johnny. But why are they staring at our house? Because the bird that they have come to see is in our garden. Don't they have birds in their own gardens? Well they do, but the bird they have come to look at is rare. Why is it rare? Well, as far as I know, these birdwatchers keep a list of all the different types of bird that they have seen, and if a bird that usually lives in another country comes to our country, then they all get in their cars and drive to see it. Why? That's a very good question Johnny. Mummy? Yes Johnny. Why are they all men? I don't really know, but I'd imagine that most women have got better things to do. And why are they all like Uncle Ronnie? What do you mean Johnny? Well, they all look like him. I've told you before, we've got to be kind to Uncle Ronnie, he has difficulties with people. And hygiene. He cannot help the way he lo...

'Slowly, slowly, catchee monkey...' That was going to be my approach to birding locally during 2016. Once again I was going to ignore the birding hotspots of Beddington (helped by having given up my key) and Holmethorpe (which was getting good coverage) and concentrate on the places seldom visited. I had tried something similar in 2015, but there was a poor return and I most probably did too much in the spring which resulted in burn-out and disappointment. If I were going to survive the year and not end up all bitter and twisted about it, then I needed to reduce expectations, not try too hard, and just go with the flow. And as it turned out, it all went very well indeed... The opening day of January saw me at Canons Farm, and over the following two months, most of my efforts were put here. All was quite sedate until 28th February, when a first-winter Iceland Gull  (right) arrived on the freshly ploughed fields, allowing a handful of the locals to catch up with this 'C...

Human beings are blessed with intellect and an ability for critical thinking. It enables us to identify almost everything that we share the Earth with, from soil types, component elements, the fauna and the flora. We also attach unique names to each and every 'thing' that comes along. Everything. And here lies the conceit of doing so - we really do believe that we can differentiate between all the species. Take birds. All 10,000-ish species. As the Victorians worked their way through the world, collecting and naming, they lay the foundation for the modern taxonomists. The 20th century natural historian then continued to add to this knowledge, with most of the world's species catalogued and checklists became fully formed. There was the odd new species discovered, but this was mostly put down to the exploring of remote corners of the world. Then the taxonomists took over... Most of what we come across can be identified. Pictures and illustrations can still do it for us. B...

JANUARY A murmuration of Black-tailed Godwits over Pulborough Brooks FEBRUARY The basis for a future painting - male Reed Bunting and buds at Holmethorpe MARCH The early promise of the summer to come in the form of a Small Tortoiseshell at Canons Farm APRIL Lilliputian flora at Dungeness - Early Forget-me-not MAY Green Hairstreak warming up in the morning sun, Chipstead Bottom JUNE A day at Box Hill with the DSLR camera capturing Sainfoin on the southern slopes JULY The Boquer Valley spills into the Med, with Balearic Warblers and Eleonora's Falcons to ease the journey AUGUST Perennial Sow-thistles at Langley Vale Farm - the commonplace becomes art form SEPTEMBER An orthopteran snacking Stonechat, Canons Farm OCTOBER Adult Caspian Gull at Dungeness NOVEMBER Golden dawn at Dungeness DECEMBER It's either a Robin or a clump of Mistletoe...

The Priest Hill Reed Bunting wintering population goes from strength to strength - there were at least 13 present today, scattered across the site, with the largest flocks being a six and a four. Only two of the birds are males. This is unprecedented for the site and the species is not to be expected away from Beddington and Holmethorpe. Overflying migrants (that usually wouldn't stop), are no doubt being enticed down by the calls of those wintering below. Long may it continue. Also present were two Stonechats, and as you know, I never miss an opportunity to upload another image. This female was particularly tame. Afterwards I couldn't resist another check on the River Hogsmill at Ewell. The Water Rail was still being faithful to its favoured stretch, where two Common Snipe noisily exited as I peered over the vegetated bank. A couple of Kingfishers were also in the general area. No Little Egret this morning, although this young Grey Heron was most obliging.

58 today... bloody hell, is that possible? I still feel as if I am but a youngster, even if the mirror tells me otherwise. What better way to spend the morning than to drag the family up Box Hill to sample a fine cross-section of cakes at the top! The weather Gods obviously knew it was my birthday as the skies were blue, the sun at its winter best and the need for hats, scarves and gloves not necessary. We even sat outside to consume the calories. Bird-wise it was very quiet indeed, but with the stunning scenery of the Surrey Alps before us, that was a minor inconvenience. At the base of the hill, (the river is to the right), the scarp cliff is commanding, smothered in Yew and Box The River Mole by the stepping stones crossing, home to Kingfisher, Goosander and Mandarin Looking across the 'zig-zag' valley towards Juniper Top. Home to a stunning chalk flora and notable insects