Splashes of bright orange at the bottom of hedges lightening the grey start, these clumps of Stinking Iris berries bursting open while above in the Blackthorn the movements of small birds could be seen. Focussing in these Goldcrests were flitting through the branches, the gold flash on their heads showing well as was the white marking of the wings. The high pitched sound of their calls heard as they moved.
The squawking of a Carrion Crow took my eyes from the scrub and upwards to where this black bird was harassing a Kestrel, maybe the hunter had succeeded in capturing some food and the crow was attempting to steal it.
A little later the chattering of Swallows once again made me look upwards to where 100+ were flitting across the sky, more were seen later as was a House Martin whose white rump flashed as it went past.
Floating overhead were Pied Wagtails, their long tails, black and white colouring and fairly easily identifiable call making them one of the easier autumn migrants to recognise!
The increase in small birds in the bushes encouraging the Sparrowhawk as two different ones were watched hugging the scrub edge as I walked around this morning. The first a deep slate grey in back colour the second a dark brown.
A huge queen Buff-tailed Bumble Bee fly past landing amongst the tufts of long grass, near to this Greater Bloody-nosed Beetle made its precarious way along a collapsed Bristley Ox-tongue stem, whose yellow flowers still in bloom.
Out on the downland, at the end of a Blackthorn twig was a Slug, how or why it got there is anyone’s guess, the route must have involved sliding over numerous spikes, was it feeding on the grey lichen at the twig ends?
The chatting call of Stonechats brought my attention back to the birds, with 3 flitting through the Wild Clematis, resting on the tops of a Hawthorn amongst the juicy red berries.
A few flowers still to admire include Wild Parsnip, Wild Carrot, Yarrow, Selfheal, Herb Robert and both Field and Small Scabious.