Despite a gloomy start to the morning, members of Ferring Conservation Group met at the Bluebird Café car park to take a leisurely stroll along the banks of the Rife. Tricia Hall, their guide for the morning, set a challenge to find ten listed butterflies along the way, as well as looking for wild flowers, trees and birds. Fortunately the sun showed its face as members split into two socially distanced groups and followed Tricia along the west bank heading north towards Ferring Country Centre. They were soon surprised by the abundance of wild flowers that adorned the bank, including Meadowsweet, Great Willow Herb, Yarrow and Yellow Loosestrife and the familiar Michaelmas Daisies were also evident.

As the Group approached the Lagoons members were dismayed to witness they had all dried out. Some members commented that these are a valuable water source for many wildlife species and would therefore need to be dug out to a greater depth to prevent total evaporation. Although the lagoons failed to present any interesting sightings a male Common Darter Dragon Fly was spotted resting on a stone nearby.

Set against a backdrop of Elders, Sliver Birch, Field Maple, Willow, Mountain Ash and a few Black Poplars, several Gelder Rose bushes were already laden with bright red berries. In the hedgerows wild blackberries were ripening off and it was noticed that Sloes were also plentiful this year. Tricia pointed out four Little Egrets and two Herons perched together on the same large tree; a regular resting place for these related birds.

Along the way members reported the following butterfly sightings; a Green Veined White, a Small White, four Speckled Wood, a Gatekeeper and many Red Admiral.

Welcome refreshments were taken at Ferring Country Centre where members thanked Tricia for a very enjoyable morning and agreed it was good to experience a Group activity once again.

Ferring Conservation Group has had to postpone all forthcoming Group meetings until further notice. Please visit:  ferringconservationgroup.co.uk  –  for the latest news.

A few Small Tortoiseshell butterflies have been seen on the Rife. Once exceedingly common, they are now only seen in very small numbers. Their eggs are laid on nettles and there are plenty of these on the Rife so it is unclear why they are in steep decline. If you see any in your garden please report them to me to my email address: pat@pathallpics.co.uk. If you walk up onto Highdown, the Marbled Whites have just emerged. Look out also for the Large and Small Skippers.

If you have an opportunity to travel up to the Knepp Estate on the A24 (only 20 minutes by car from Ferring) you will just catch the young storks before they leave their nest. This is the first time ever for 400 years that storks have bred in this country and right on our doorstep. A unique and wonderful experience which you may have seen on Springwatch.

If you are confined to your garden, look out for all the small ‘bugs’ that are visiting our plants. If you have a herb bed, you may see the delightful little Mint Moth. You could make a list of all the insects that you see in your garden: Ladybirds, Greenflies, Dragonflies, Damselflies, Bees, Wasps, Flies, Hover flies and Beetles.

Yesterday, a Spoonbill was spotted by Ron and Jan Tutheridge flying over Goring Gap.

A Cuckoo was also seen and many people have reported hearing a Cuckoo in the second half of May, especially over the Rife and further west. Yesterday, also, Clive Hope saw 4 Bottlenose Dolphins following a trawler off Ferring beach and David Campbell saw 6. So keep looking! Peter Dale has reported a few Bee Orchids in the North Lagoon together with Early Marsh Orchids. In the ‘Yurt’ field up McIntyre’s Lane Graham Tuppen has found 18 Bee Orchids.

On the reservoir there are small numbers of Pyramidal Orchids amongst the dry grasses, back after being mown to death for several years. It is very dry on the reservoir but I don’t think it has been mown. Highdown Hill is looking very dry but there are lots of Skylarks and a few Yellowhammers. Although the vegetation is parched, there are extraordinary numbers of Yellow Rattle flowers and the purple Lesser Knapweeds (Hardheads) are coming into flower.

The meadow below Highdown Gardens is covered in an astonishing number of Ox-eye Daisies. There are also many Common Broomrapes, a curious parasitic plant that produces no chlorophyll. It has pale yellow/fawn flowers and stems and no leaves.

The only butterflies of note are many Small Heaths on Highdown and some bright-blue newly-emerged Common Blues. In woodland, Speckled Woods are flitting about. At Patching there are Grizzled Skippers and Dingy Skippers and a few bright red and black Cinnabar Moths.

Finally, on June 1^st on Cissbury, I saw a male Northern Wheatear, a very striking black and white bird. This is a very late record for a bird that may be making its way back to Greenland to breed.

Bee Orchid in a field near Highdown

Pyramidal Orchids on Highdown

Lesser Knapweed

Ox-eye Daisies in meadow below Highdown

Common Blue on Highdown

Speckled Wood at Patching

Wheatear on Cissbury

Good news! Salsify is flourishing again on Sea Lane. The flowers are purple/pink and the plant is tall with greyish, long, thin leaves. It belongs to the daisy family, the

Salsify

Compositae, and is closely related to Goatsbeard which has yellow flowers. Goatsbeard is also known as ‘Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon’ because the flowers usually only open in the morning. So, if you want to see the flowers, look towards the bottom of Sea Lane on a sunny morning.

Salsify also grows in my front garden in Clover Lane probably because I took photos and carried the seeds home.

Salsify on Sea Lane

The seeds form a conspicuous brown coloured ‘clock’. Salsify roots are edible and it is probable that its appearance in the countryside is as a result of escapes from garden vegetable plots.

Now that the weather is not so good, you could try these ideas from the comfort of your house:

If you are still feeding birds, open your windows and try taking photos of birds on your feeders. You can even try through the glass. Even better if you can get a picture of a bird in a tree.

If you have a nest box or you know where a robin or blackbird, say, has made a nest, try keeping a record of activities: taking in nesting materials, feeding young and fledglings. Keep a note of key dates and you can even record your findings on the website of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO): www.bto.org.

A walk up the Rife is a must in May. The white Cow Parsley is in full bloom all along the banks and the Yellow Flags (Yellow Iris) are just coming out. Soon, the Early Marsh Orchids will be in bloom.

Two birds to look out for on the Rife which like the reeds. Reed Buntings sing from the tops of reeds or from bushes. Their song is a dull few notes but they are a lovely bird. Reed Warblers sing from lower down in the reeds and have an interesting chatty, jittery song which seems to go round in circles. They make their nests in the reeds whereas Reed Buntings usually nest in scrubby vegetation nearby.