Exploring around the Winchester area Hampshire apparently has the highest number of Butterfly species in England; 46 out of 59. Last year I managed 26 but doubt if I will achieve that many or improve this year, in fact I left deeper searching too late for many. The Claylands Reserve here in Bishop’s Waltham has […]

Lockdown kicks in – the wildlife love it Less traffic and less pollution seems to be bringing much benefit to humans and wildlife alike, but of course, we’d rather not be in the middle of a pandemic. In some ways I guess it’s easier for us senior citizens, we don’t need to worry about losing […]

Late March, the first sightings of Butterflies As usual, the first Butterfly to appear was the Orange Tip, one day you saw one, the next day, a dozen! After that along came the Peacocks, Speckled Woods and Small Tortoiseshells. Claylands Nature Reserve, just a 300 meter walk from me, has some very nice ‘wildlife maintained’ […]

After nearly 18 years down the Lane I have upsticked and moved to Bishop’s Waltham in Hampshire; closer to the family, turned 70 with parts of my body not doing what they’re supposed to be doing so well out in the Garden etc!! A comfortable Flat and very close to two Reserves and a short […]

It was a beautiful sunny day when I visited Oare Marshes last week and if you count the Starlings there must have been over 5,000 birds around and about, 2,000 of which were made up of Dunlin, Avocets, Golden Plover, Lapwings, Black Tailed Godwits, various Geese and on the not bird scene, beside a few […]

Rare visit for the Hummingbird Hawk Moth The last time I saw the Hummingbird Hawk Moth was at Nagergot in the Himalayan Foothills ! I’d heard from several people this year who said they’ve had them in and around their Gardens, so I was especially pleased to see this one hopping on and off the […]

Once again I’ve been confined to barracks over the last five days, but on the theory that nature and wildlife is not about four seasons but 365 days a year, I’m still spotting changes every time I walk up the Garden. Grey Wagtails Every year is the same with these fascinating birds, they show a […]

Being not quite yet my usual finely tuned Olympic Triathlon self (!!) once again I’m pretty much confined to the Garden and the 100 meters or so down to the fields. There’s always something to see though and again, the beauty of Nature’s Wildlife comes to you if you allow it and sit patiently enough […]

As feared the last part of June involved me being confined to barracks, so no day trips out or walks on the fields. However, just sitting in the Garden made me observe more of what was going on and a chance to do some more swatting up on Wildlife Sites whilst avoiding daytime TV as […]