The rise of the Goshawk northdownsandbeyond.blogspot.com/2026/02/the-...

The Dolphin, Betchworth, Surrey: two rather fine pints of Dorking Brewery Best. Note the pots of honey to denote colour of the beer.

A recent aural history northdownsandbeyond.blogspot.com/2026/02/h-is...

Ewell, Surrey: my annual February fix of the naturalised Abraham-Isaac-and-Jacob, close to the Hogsmill LNR

Ashurst Roughs, Surrey: minimum of 25 Hawfinch, much calling. The birds were extra wary this morning, kept out of the way and distant. #UKBirding #PatchBirding

Horsham, West Sussex: like mutant cauliflowers, Giant Butterbur plants are erupting from the earth along the banks of the River Arun

Of great interest @dungenessbirdobs.bsky.social

Remembering Barry northdownsandbeyond.blogspot.com/2026/02/barr...

Southern Counties East Division 1: Tooting Bec 2 Banstead Athletic 2. The away team should have won, and came back from 2-0 down. Both teams spurned golden chances but should be congratulated on dishing up good, honest, entertaining football. The lower leagues deliver!

Juniper Top, Ashurst Roughs and Mickleham Downs, Surrey: Goshawks to the fore with displaying, calling, one enormous female and a still streaky juvenile (minimum of 4 birds), plus c15 Hawfinches (40 seen earlier by Andy Holden) #PatchBirding #UKBirding

Back again… northdownsandbeyond.blogspot.com/2026/02/nd-r...

The lanes of East Suffolk are full of Alexanders, a few showing the galls of the rust fungus Puccinia smyrnii

Snape Maltings, Suffolk: a non-birding visit had me staring eastwards across vast reedbeds being serenaded by a Reed Bunting in the still and mild air. “Oh, I like this, bound to be Marsh Harriers, Bitterns, Bearded Tits, maybe something like a Savi’s Warbler!” Dream on Steve, back to Surrey…

Eastern Counties League Prem Division: Ipswich Wanderers 1 Stowmarket Town 0. A hastily sought out fixture after several postponed targets fixtures. A good combative game that the home team should have won comfortably. As you can see, half-time score remained. Good, friendly club.

Sutton, South London: an urban planners wet-dream of ornithological street naming. I’ve known the area for 50+ years and have only seen Grey Heron and Cormorant within a mile radius. Tbf the houses are build on ex-Water Board land where, on a couple of tiny ponds, I did see Moorhen and Mallard.

Horsham, West Sussex: a most distinct snowdrop in St. Mary’s churchyard (glaucous leaved, large flowers) that I feel fairly safe in calling Great Snowdrop (Galanthus elwesii). Some G. nivalis close by was quite weedy in comparison.

National League: Sutton United 1 Brackley Town 1. The home clubs obsession with playing the ball out from the back was absurd as not only were they poor at it but gave a goal away doing so and tied themselves up in knots in the process. Avian highlight: 2 Cormorants east

The nerd in me has kept a note every football match that I’ve attended. Out of some sort of perverse interest I thought I’d check up and see what the commonest score has been. Top three (in order)… 1-0 2-1 1-1 No surprises there then. Followed by (in order): 2-0 3-1 2-2 3-0 3-2 0-0 4-0

Banstead Athletic 1 SE Dons 4 - my second team from Chatham in a week. For a game in the sixth tier, a crowd of 226 with both sets of supporters singing throughout is fantastic. Played on a mud bath, in good spirit, all is well lower down on the football pyramid.

Banstead, Surrey: worlds upon worlds - the bryophyte and lichen communities to be found on the trunk of a beech tree

Banstead, Surrey: a bit of sun and a waft of warmth and the wintering-flowering heathers entice 2 Buff-tailed Bumblebees. Feels almost like spring…

Banstead, Surrey: not uncommon, but this invasive harvestman (Opilio canestrinii) was new for me

Isthmian Prem: Carshalton Athletic 0 Chatham Town 4. A good away support helped swell the crowd to 490. Most of the second half was spent watching a trickle of Magpies enter a scrubby roost to the north of the pitch.

London: you can still act the tourist even in your home town. Egyptian Geese are the new Ring-necked Parakeets.

North Downs, Buckland, Surrey: a misty, calm and sunny morning couldn’t quite banish my post-virus blues although a steady and modest total of 140 Redwing moved through west. The farmland was (bar 100+ mixed finches) bereft of birds. It doesn’t get any easier… #UKBirding #PatchBirding

Banstead, Surrey: the 2026 garden bioblitz is well underway, so far hampered by a virus and the snow and ice. However, with my ‘softly softly’ and steady approach it is really enjoyable. Lifers definitely to be had with which to pump up the @panspecieslisting.bsky.social list!

Banstead, Surrey: the garden MV had its first outing of the year which produced singles of Chestnut and Dark Chestnut #TeamMoth

Banstead, Surrey: an unexpected movement of Redwing between 08.00 -09.50hrs totalling c485 birds, moving mainly east but a few north #PatchBirding #UKBirding

2026 sees the 50th anniversary of my first visit to @dungenessbirdobs.bsky.social and in those intervening years have had my fair share of the rare and spectacular. But the one observation that sums it all up was watching a Bee-eater one sunny May morning, feeding around the iconic old lighthouse.

Canons Farm, Surrey: a single unharvested brassica field held most of the action this morning with 30 Skylark, 20 Meadow Pipit, 50 Linnet and 3 Reed Bunting (the latter species scarce here.) #UKBirding #PatchBirding

Banstead, Surrey: a modest start to the 2026 garden bioblitz (it’s a marathon, not a sprint etc…) and I have my first lifer - two tiny flies beaten from Ivy that I’m fairly confident in calling Palloptera scutellata - plus some even smaller Diptera that are way above my pay grade!

Banstead, Surrey: a couple of naturalised plant species locally - Italian Lords-and-ladies and, on the right, Chinese Barberry

Mickleham, Surrey: a brief post-Covid wander found four separate plants of Rustyback along the wall between White Hill Cottage and the road. I’ve known it here for close on 30 years. Plenty of Wall-rue as well

A new year day’s birding extravaganza? Not for me I’m afraid, still getting over a bout of Covid… still, a light potter at home will kick-start my year long Garden Bioblitz! Good luck and best wishes to you all for 2026.

Thoroughly enjoying a most entertaining and enlightening travel through Tottenham Hotspur in the 1980s with Gareth Dace’s excellent book ‘Hot Shot Tottenham’. He’s written up the 1990s already, can I twist his arm to cover the 60s and 70s for more nostalgic prompts? @80s90sspursbooks.bsky.social

One of my 2026 projects will be to bioblitz my Surrey garden. This will force me to look at orders that I have neglected (such as spiders, mosses and many invert groups.) A mixture of fun and a steep learning curve. No idea how many species possible, but will hope for at least 750.

Leigh, Surrey: 200+ Fieldfare in fields north of village. My highest ‘local’ count for two winters #UKBirding

Banstead Athletic 1 Croydon 0. Both teams put up a spirited and competitive match on a pudding of a pitch with the home team deserving the three points.

My mate, as a 16-year old, bowled up to Wembley Stadium an hour before the kick-off of the 1966 World Cup final, paid for a very affordable ticket at the turnstiles and walked in. Compare that to the modern day ‘big’ match experience.

Surrey Moths has a new website! There's not much in it, but that will change. All records should now be forwarded to the new verification team. We're looking for all records, all years to help rebuild the database backlog and other missing records. Visit www.surreymoths.org.uk for details. #TeamMoth

I’ve just finished reading ‘Wild Twin’ by Jeff Young, published by those wonderful people at @littletollerbooks.bsky.social - a powerful, lyrical and creative masterpiece.

Buckland, Surrey: during my wanders this morning I was keen to check the crucifer and brassica fields, where this set-aside has enticed a flock of 20 Yellowhammers, by far the highest count that I have had in this particular area. “Plant it and they will come…” #UKBirding

A rare visit to Gander Green Lane for me in recent seasons, to see the FA Cup clash between Sutton United (form on the up) against League Two depth dwellers Shrewsbury Town. Another league scalp for the U’s?

Mickleham Downs, Surrey: a Red Kite, 12 Redwing, 3 Marsh Tit, 3 Hawfinch, 2 Crossbill and 8 Redpoll. Captivated by this Mistle Thrush guarding Mistletoe #UKBirding

On Sunday I drove from the North Downs to the South Downs and back, driving across the achingly beautiful Surrey and Sussex Weald. Barely a bird to see.

Banstead, Surrey: the ‘November in flower’ project comes to an end, with Perennial Wall-rocket becoming the 273rd species recorded within a 10 mile radius of home. The total was helped by a very mild month punctuated by rainy spells, with only four modest night of frosts. @bsbibotany.bsky.social

November plants in flower list limps up by one to 272 species with this Grass-leaved Orache, by a busy roadside (hence snatched picture.)

Leatherhead 2 Westfield 3, top of the table clash that didn’t disappoint - and neither did my 67th species of bird to be recorded while watching football, with two Egyptian Geese that surreally flew across the pitch in the dark, theatrically floodlit. Entered right, exited left.

Sutton, Surrey: November plants in flower up to 271 species thanks to Sticky Groundsel and this pavement/wall join colonising Blue-flowered Leadwort (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides) although Stace only lists C. Willmottisnum). #UrbanBotany

My favourite quote from ‘Urban Plants’ by @trevorthebotanist.bsky.social “the urban botanist often needs a pair of binoculars to help record wall plants, although this naturally runs the terrible risk of being mistaken for a twitcher.”