Sussex Prairies

Sussex Prairies, near Henfield, is a really wonderful garden. The flowers are planted in great drifts and the paths wander right through them. There was an astonishing number of bees present, and the most butterflies I have seen in one place this year.

 

Despite the variation in colour, I am fairly confident that all these bees are Buff-tailed Bumblebees.

A Honeybee.

 

 Painted Lady.

 Red Admiral.

Peacock.

Earlier in the day I visited Sovereign Harbour. Despite the new building work, there is still a good number of Linnets and House Sparrows resident in the area around the Martello Tower on the west side.

Overnight rain had left several puddles, and at first I thought the House Martins were drinking from them. Now I have looked more closely at my photos, I can see that the birds were in fact gathering mud for new nests. This really surprised me as Sand Martins and Swifts are already leaving in huge numbers. Apparently House Martins can still have chicks in the nest at the end of September.

Linnet.