A young magpie at the edge of one of the Barley Field paths, spreading its feathers widely as it presses its body to the ground. It’s anting: encouraging ants to climb over tis feathers, possibly to control parasites.
David
Staghorn sumac: bright red
The flowers on a staghorn sumac, bright red.
Thistledown
Thistledown, looks so soft. Is so soft.
Ragwort with bumble bees
A patch of ragwort flowers was attracting lots of bumble bees. Pictured here are a red-tailed bumble bee and a buff-tailed bumble bee.
Keeping an eye on the gate?
Gatekeeper butterfly resting on a leaf. Like most gatekeepers, it was in a spot on the margins between a wooded area (often just a hedge) and more open vegetation.
Shiny lords and ladies
Lords and ladies (wild arum) berries glistening, bright and shiny, changing colours in their last stages of ripening at the start of the month.