NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

Last year, at the end of May, I took the decision to have a natural-history themed holiday at home, rather than go to the expense and faff of travelling elsewhere. As I've gotten older my wish to remain close to home has strengthened and my curiosity as to what can be found 'from my doorstep' increased. It was a rewarding exercise - I left the car at home and walked miles each day, sometimes exploring footpaths that were unknown to me - and although the birding was quiet (it was early June) some plant and insect discoveries were notable. So, it it was so much fun, why not do it again? And this time, being mid-May, why not just make it about the birds... Surrey birds! There was one change however, and that was that I would use the car at times to head out south-westwards to explore parts of the county that I had no visited for a long, long time. With such thoughts being energising, I expectantly waited for the starting gun to sound, announcing the start of my 10 day Surrey B...

Today saw a rare outing to Thursley Common. This is one of those places that I have struggled with over the years. Being a specialist habitat it is always going to produce a small, but notable, suite of birds, but this is only half of (my) story - it seldom manages to excite me and I am without doubt the loser in not visiting the site very often. In spring/early summer you are more or less guaranteed the summering/breeding stars, with Woodlark, Common Redstart, Dartford Warbler, Hobby and Nightjar. You can sometimes jam in, as I did, with a first-summer Common Crane (6 May 1987) that rose up from the bog before giving a fly past. Winter is an altogether harder proposition. Birdlife can all but disappear and on one occasion my notebook recorded but 18 species in a five hour visit, but did include a Great Grey Shrike and a Hen Harrier! Having mentioned those two highlights, I have to admit to blanking out more often than not. But Thursley is far more than just birds. It is one...

This is a Stinkhorn, one of the more phallic looking fungi. No doubt this sort of species was covered up by Victorian naturalists to save the honour of any passing women. Mind you, if it does remind you of a penis, and you are a man, I suggest that you make an appointment with your doctor urgently and get yours checked out. They are supposed to smell to such an extent that you can detect their whereabouts with your nostrils before your eyes have a chance to do so. I bent down to sniff the tip of this particular specimen (I did feel a bit perverted doing so) and can reveal that it was sickly sweet. All this eroticism was taking place at Thundry Meadows, a Surrey Wildlife Trust reserve close to Elstead. It is an interesting reserve of Alder Carr, grassland and mixed woodland along a stretch of the River Wey. The picture below is looking across the river away from the reserve. Pretty... I carried on afterwards to Thursley Common. In glorious weather and with a mere breeze, ...

This little beauty was found crawling up a Scots Pine just off of the boardwalk that crosses the bog on Thursley Common. I think it might be Sitticus floricola. But, as I'm increasingly having to say, I might be wrong. Oh for a decent spider guide... There were at least 20 Common Lizards basking in the heat on the boardwalk, ranging in size and colour. Searches for other species of reptile drew a blank. More from the fabled NNR tomorrow.

I took myself off to Thursley Common today and had a great time. The weather was immaculate, there were Woodlarks and Redstarts serenading me wherever I went and the air was full of the coconut whiff of Gorse and the warming sniff of pine resin. There was enough of interest to populate several posts, so I'll keep my powder dry for later in the week. However... On a part of the reserve where the ground rises and the growth is regenerating from the devastating fire of a couple of years ago, I found several examples of this tiny grass growing on compacted sand. The fresh yellowy-green leaves and the jizz of the plants suggested to me that they might be Early Meadow-grass, but I'm way off being a grass expert. Are there any of you out there that fancy commenting? It would be welcomed.