A pleasantly cool start to the day, with a south-westerly breeze rattling among dry grasses in the meadows and rustling among the branches of Holm Oak and Sycamore.
The meadows are turning a lovely shade of gold, dappled with the deep purple flowers of Knapweed and Greater Knapweed, yellow spikes of Agrimony and Wild Parsnip and Wild Carrot. Field Bindweed tangles around the base of the stems, alongside Yellow Rattle (living up to it’s name this morning) and Common Restharrow. Here and there, some dense patches of Marjoram are being visited by bees, with Lousewort and Wood Sage also in flower.
On the downs, a tall Ragwort plant is home (and breakfast!) to a pair of yellow and black striped Cinnabar Moth caterpillars – this much maligned plant also provides a fantastic late nectar source to butterflies and bees.
Elsewhere around the downland, Woolly Thistles are up to my shoulders, with Spear Thistle, Creeping Thistle and the tiny (but spiky!) ‘Picnic’ or Stemless Thistle also in bloom.
On the very shortest turf, Squinancywort, Wild Thyme and Bastard Toadlax, all with minute, but pretty flowers can all be found, with a Bloody-nose Beetle plodding patiently up the side of a Thyme-covered anthill, with a huge (as long as my index finger) female Great Green Bush Cricket lurking among the bramble nearby.
Despite the lack of early sunshine, still plenty of butterflies on the wing, with good numbers of intricately patterned orange, black and white Painted Ladies seen. Gatekeepers still easily the most numerous species this morning, with Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood and Common Blue also seen, along with a few of the last red and black Six-spot Burnet Moths.
As the summer turns, the hedgerows are filling up with fruit – Bramble is covered with pink flowers and red and green blackberries, while Sloes are ripening to a dusty purple. Old Man’s Beard (also known as Traveller’s Joy, or locally as Father Christmas) is covered with sweet-scented pale green flowers, almost covering many hedges.
A fairly quiet morning for birds – though the list included Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Garden Warbler and Grasshopper Warbler, all were in small numbers.