Day 23 - Orchids at Coombes Valley

I went over to RSPB Coombes Valley for an hour this afternoon. It was too hot for me to walk there, I just spent a bit of time in the meadow, listening to the grasshoppers and chiff chaffs, watching chimney sweeper moths and various butterflies and admiring the flowers and grasses, including greater butterfly orchids.

 I wonder which creature lived in here?

I sought a bit of respite from the sun underneath this oak tree and found a very tiny moth.

Amber snail

I planned to have a look in the pond before I left as there's always plenty to see in this pond, but the gate was locked today, with a notice to say there could be no pond dipping for the forseeable future as great crested newts have moved in to the pond.

On day 23 last June, I sat in the garden watching bumblebees coming and going from their nest. In 2015 and 2016, by chance, I did the same walk on day 23 - I found lots of insects along the way in 2016 and enjoyed a rope swing the year before.