The Comma Butterfly

So named for the comma shaped marking on the underside of the hindwings, these are one of our most impressive butterflies. I love to see them flying over the nettles which are their caterpillar's food plant. They have a powerful flight but stop to bask often and I can never see enough of them.

A Beautiful Grey Heron

Grey herons are at once both beautiful and menacing. Theyremind me of a teradactyl when they fly and I have seen them stalk and kill smaller birds such as ducklings and starlings. They are always an impressive sight and at Birdworld in Surrey they are very common and approachable especially when trying to rob the pelecans and penguins of their sprats......They nest in large trees around the gardens and there are often juveniles on the prowl as well....Pity the poor frogs....snakes....slow worms.....the list goes on.....

Yellow Hammer Bunting

I found this lovely little bird in Tugley wood. One of two seem to be there every spring and they are a welcome sight. They have a cheerful little song and are the brightest bird in the forest. Sadly they are a fast declining species.

A Perfect Wood Lark

I found this perfect Wood Lark on a dead birch tree on the heath. Soon after I found two smooth snakes nearby. Amazing. One of our rarest birds and then our rarest reptile within minutes of each other. Fantastic.

Stock Doves on St Mary's Church roof

Stock Doves are my favourite member of the pigeon family. They are uncommon and very shy but give themselves away by their loud "oooooouuuuuhhhhh" call which is far reaching and atmospheric. They are found mainly in the woods but in some areas will nest in church towers or in large trees in church yards if these have holes in them. This most beautiful of doves is a tree hole nester and is therefore a rare bird and probably declining. I was lucky to find a pair perched on a church roof in Wantage.

Male Common Blue At Wood Lane Heath

Ah, What Beauty....at your finger tips now.....look down look down.... A Male Common Blue....

Redshank, Curlew and Whimbrel

Here are three of my favourite birds....wow...what a trio....all present on the Pagham Marshes NOW!!!!!

Two of our rarest and most beautiful butterflies are now flying

The small blue is our smallest butterfly as you can see from my photo. They are small and amazingly hard to follow as they dash from leaf to leaf. Small Blues are also amazingly local, often being found only in an area of a few square feet, centred on the food plant which is kidney vetch. The Duke of Burgundy is our smallest and fastest fritillary, moving almost faster than the eye can follow. Males often bask with their wings open. Sadly they are fast heading into extinction and colony after colony is vanishing never to be seen again.

Ebernoe Wild Wood

Ebernoe Common, West Sussex, is an amazing place and one of the most beautiful and wildest forests I have seen in England. It really is an ancient woodland and is a stunningly beautiful place. It is home to numerous rare plants and animals and birds and has the feel of a very special place. Visit it if you can......but beware, it is not an easy place to find and it is an easy place to get lost in....when you are there look out for wood whites, goshawks and yellow archangel....and painted lady butterflies....

The Wild Service Tree is in Flower

One of our rarest wild trees is now beginning to flower. The Wild Service Tree is one of our very rarest and most beautiful trees with its large toothed leaves and lovely blossoms. The fruit it produces in autumn is rather similar to a small brown pear. Very tasty. Sadly the tree itself is extremely rare and is an indicator of ancient woodland, itself a scarce thing. There may be as few as 300 wild service trees in England.

An adder and a smooth snake in Surrey

The smooth snakes are active now..... This most secretive of British reptiles is sometimes seen basking in the heather on the Surrey Heaths but it is a rare and vanishing sight and the species is classified as endangered in Britain with possibly as few as 700 individuals remaining. Any possible sightings should be reported to the Herpetological Conservation Trust (Bournemouth) who will check out the reported sighting and try to verify it. Some smooth snakes are pale and others are dark and do their best to mimic the adder.......smooth snakes eat other reptiles so are rarely found near adders or grass snakes.....

A Peacock Butterfly In The Garden

There seem to be plenty of peacock butterflies around his year. Sadly the once abundant small tortoiseshell (a close relative of the peacock) seems to have almost completely vanished. Thankfully the peacock is still thriving and what a fantastic sight it is.

A Wood-White, a Brimstone and an Orange tip (Female) in Tugley Wood

Once again, Tugley wood has shown a new aspect of its wildlife by revealing these two marvellous butterflies nectaring on Hedge Garlic by the edge of the road. Both were unusually approachable. Interestingly, the wood-whites further in the forest were not so easily approached though it was good to see one female laying eggs. I was also lucky enough to see several garden warblers singing their amazing songs from well hidden perches. Sadly I have still to get a photo of this drabest of warblers though.

A Snipe and a Green Sandpiper at Unstead Sewage Works

What a wonderful sight, a marvellous snipe and a green sandpiper at the Unstead sewage pool.

A Wood Lark on Blackheath

The wood larks are back!! What a wonderful song from one of our most enigmatic heathland birds. It too is vanishing due to habitat loss, along with the tree pipit and the dartford warbler. I was lucky to find this one perched in the evening light. A wonderful and rare sight.

Two Garden Visitors

Today there have been two visitors to the garden.....one of them, the song thrush, is one of our greatest singers and the other, the hedge sparrow is a bird of curious habits and a delightful song reminiscent of the white throat warbler. The female dunnock mates with as many males as possible but only allows one to father her chicks....by ingenious means.....however, all the local males think the chicks are theirs and help in feeding them......the dunnock is also regularly parisitised by the common cuckoo and somehow fails to recognize that the giant chick in its nest is not its own....

A Sand Lizard, a Grass snake and a Smooth Snake at Crooksbury Common

At the moment the sand lizards are in their full breeding colours. They are brilliant to see.....although thats not easy to do. They manage to remain well hidden most of the time. Seriously endangered by habitat loss they are now our rarest reptile along with the smooth snake which feeds on them. A tragic case of the endagered eating the endangered....such is life. Enjoy them while you can, but blink and they are gone......forever....

A Hobby (Falcon) and Kestrel on Blackheath

I sighted this beautiful and very rare falcon sitting on a dead tree on Blackheath, Surrey. The light was poor and the distance great but through the telescope it could clearly be seen. Marvellous! The photos aren't great but still its elegance and sickle wings can clearly be seen. I followed it round for some time trying to get a better picture as it flew from tree to tree, but all to no avail and eventually it vanished through the pines and was gone. A ghostly and magical memory of one of our most impressive birds.