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.