Wild Surrey Walks - For a sense of enormous well-being

On Saturday morning it was my pleasure to guide Blur drummer Dave Rowntree and his partner Michelle on a mornings walk on Thursley Common. It was a beautiful sunny morning and Dave, Michelle and the extremely well behaved Izzy the dog were treated to some lovely wildlife. A pair of dashing Hobbies were hunting over the boggy areas for dragonflies and we watched them for several minutes as they ate their prey on the wing. A scratchy song from a gorse bush revealed a showy Dartford Warbler and a splendid male Redstart sang and showed well in the pines. With the boardwalk closed, it is difficult to get close to the beautiful display of Southern Marsh Orchids but we still could admire them from a distance. Dragonflies were out in good number with Four-spotted Chasers and Downy Emeralds particularly evident along with Azure and Large Red Damselflies and Beautiful Demoiselles adding a splash of colour. A good morning was had by all.