Steve Gale
@stevewg
Surrey-based naturalist on the edge of Greater London with a particular interest in bird migration, lepidoptera and botany. Dungeness (Kent) will sometimes get a mention. northdownsandbeyond.blogspot.com Non-league football follower.
Pre-season friendly Redhill 3 Harrow Borough 1 100+ crowd, 1 pm kick-off Step 5 v Step 4 Plenty of scrub down eastern side of the ground looks useful for the bird list in the coming weeks…
Banstead, Surrey: a reduced number of moths at the MV included Fig-leaved Skeletonizer and a further two Small Mottled Willow #TeamMoth
Banstead, Surrey: an interesting morning at the MV with the 7th garden record of The Vestal, a Buttoned Snout (barely annual), the first Gypsy Moth of the year plus a Yponomeuta sedella which I have no record of seeing before #TeamMoth
Ewell, Surrey: I really don’t like coming across such beauty rendered lifeless…
Epsom Downs, Surrey: 500 Gatekeeper, 125 Chalkhill Blue, 100 Marbled White, 12 Dark Green Fritillary, a Silver-washed Fritillary and this Clouded Yellow (in sun and backlit).
Banstead, Surrey: a strikingly marked Noctua which is most probably a Langmaid’s LBBY Underwing, just found in the garden #TeamMoth
Banstead, Surrey: a nice surprise to the MV this morning was this Ni Moth #TeamMoth
The Surrey Wildlife Trust collection. We are very fortunate to have such a series of publications catering for the county, all to a high standard and comprehensive enough to be of value to naturalists elsewhere. More please!
One for the @gandermonium.bsky.social boys - Epsom and Ewell warming up for their first pre-season match (against Leatherhead). One Dundo (on the left) putting them through their paces.
West Pentire - Polly Joke, Cornwall: an afternoon spent in the company of a flock of seven confiding Choughs. Bridge camera in overdrive. So much excellent habitat to hide those autumn vagrants. Dare I gamble and try it? Home tomorrow, thank you once again Kernow…
Kelsey Head, Cornwall: 13,000 Manx Shearwater west between 05.40 - 08.10hrs. Other highlights on a 21.9km walk - Red-veined Darter, 5 Hummingbird Hawks, more Babbington’s Leek and Sea Holly than I’ve seen before, 6 Chough, Peregrine and a myriad of bees and wasps than remain unidentified!
West Pentire, Cornwall: sneaked off for an hour this afternoon that produced three Puffin and a handful of Manx Shearwater from the headland, 4 Chough, good numbers of butterfly (including 30+ Painted Lady) and two Hummingbird Hawk-moths. Big walk planned for tomorrow!
West Pentire, Cornwall: fields full of Corn Marigold, my first Clouded Yellow of 2026 and a group of four Choughs was fair reward for a day of little effort
West Pentire, Cornwall: my love affair with the north Cornish coast is rekindled. Whole family in tow, but - whisper it - so are the optics…
I’ve started to get a taste for this, and in this hot weather nice and cold straight out of the fridge. But at 6.5% it needs to be treated with respect. Cheers!
Banstead, Surrey: the highest temperature in the shade this afternoon was 100F (37.7C). Garden record is 38.5C in 2022. The times they are a’changing…
Banstead, Surrey: busy night at the garden MV headlined by a Lobster (3rd garden record), Lesser-spotted Pinion (not annual) and a further 2 Udea fulvalis #TeamMoth
Banstead, Surrey: a busier night at the garden MV with star species being my second Striped Hawk-moth of the month plus this pyralid which I believe to be Udea fulvalis (which I have not seen before) #TeamMoth
Banstead, Surrey: no obvious migrants to the MV but this Grey Arches is not annual in the trap #TeamMoth
Banstead, Surrey: a disappointing MV haul last night, but did include a Plumed Fanfoot (now seemingly established locally) and this European Corn-borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) not often recorded here #TeamMoth
Banstead, Surrey: fourth night in a row and first multiple count of The Blackneck (3) to the garden MV. Usually not annual here with not much in the way of its foodplant(s) close by. Is it having a good year elsewhere? #TeamMoth
Banstead, Surrey: another species to add to the local suburban ‘grass-verge’ list : Crimson Clover just starting to flower #UrbanPlants
North Surrey: the chalk scrapes are acting as a nursery for Surrey- provenance collected seed: Ground-pine, Wild Candytuft and Cut-leaved Germander, the latter spreading prolifically - in the wild it is struggling.
Banstead, Surrey: even us inland moth-ers are getting in on a bit of the migrant action - this Striped Hawk-moth is only my second here (previous 1 Sept 2006) #TeamMoth
Dungeness, Kent: the last full day of my current stay was bedecked in Painted Lady butterflies with c500 on the point, arriving just after first light and gone by lunchtime. A singing Golden Oriole at ARC was a bonus. @neilburt.bsky.social tempted me into a lemon meringue sundae - naughty but nice!
Dungeness, Kent: wind went west, light cloud rolled in - cue much drinking of tea and chatting on the banks of the moat while sky watching. Time was well spent with a Norfolk Hawker on the southern Long Pit combined with a visit to the small colony of Marsh Cinquefoil. We go again tomorrow.
Dungeness, Kent: the f3-4 easterly died down to a barely noticeable southerly. Projected overnight temp of 18c has us most hopeful that the MVs will deliver. Martin’s Concolorous from Lydd, plus showy Lesser Emperors and a Norfolk Hawker at DBO were the highlights. Birds failed to deliver…
Dungeness, Kent: an easterly wind which started as a f3-4 then built to a good f5 which kept the heat at bay. Star turn was a ring-tailed Montagu’s Harrier that was tracked moving north before briefly settling in fields west of ARC. 2 Norfolk Hawker & a Lesser Emperor were the odonata highlights.