Devil's Bit Scabious

Medusae Clouds

These clouds appear to be shedding rain, that evaporates before hitting the ground. This gives them jellyfish-like appearance.

June Day 30: Linnets

A common bird around the South Downs, easily overlooked. The males can look splendid in red breeding plumage.

 A female

Marbled White

My first Marbled White of the year, at Frog firle in the Cuckmere Valley.

June Day 29: Bee Swarm

A swarm of native Honey Bees, Apis mellifera, at Littlington, in the pub garden of the Plough.

June Day 28: Feeding Swifts

As the week's weather warmed towards a hot weekend, there were high feather-like clouds in the sky over the garden, and several Swifts feeding and screaming.

June Day 27: Slow Worm

One of the garden Slow Worms. A few years ago we estimated the population to be about 13. Exceptionally wet winters have lowered this number, but they breed every year.

Sunset at Birling Gap

June Day 26: Black-headed Gulls

Black-headed Gulls were feeding on the sea just off Birling Gap beach.They kept wheeling around to fly slowly into the wind, darting down to pluck items from the surface.

June Day 25: Eider

I was delighted to find that the pair of Eider reported at the weekend had remained at Hope Gap, Seaford Head. They were busy diving to feed at high tide on a very calm sea.

 Male

Female

Whitethroat

Rosebay Willowherb

Burdock

Carrion Crow

June Day 24: Banded Snails

In the garden on a wet evening

June Day 23: Painted Lady

My first one of the year. A few hours later there were six in the garden.

Buzzard

This Buzzard regularly annoys the Herring gulls over Hill Road

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

Six Spot Ladybird

June Day 22: Crab Spider

Something odd about the pose of this Meadow Brown, apparently feeding on Bramble flowers at Knepp, made me look more closely. The hunting Crab Spider is white. I didn't know they could change their colour to match the blossom they ambush their prey from.