And just when we resumed operations in earnest, our Roger managed to tip the mower into a ditch and jammed the cutter-bar! As I write Arthur (our mechanical wizard) and I, are planning to sort it out crossing our fingers hopefully, to get us back to work again quickly. You will have guessed that we were mowing the rides, which is a rather pleasant hay-making sort of job by comparison with the heather weeding which became too hot and we gave up in disgust... And yet the heather is not looking too bad: the bees are loving the flowers and the dragonflies were out in force one day.
The interesting topic this month is not the reserve - it does one good to look over the hedge occasionally. I was in the garden when I saw what looked like a slim bee hovering around the honeysuckle. Closer scrutiny showed that it had been an insect we had seen in Malta a few years back. Coincidentally, my Sussex Wildlife Trust colleague Mike Russell, who writes a column for the county newspapers, described it this month while writing about butterflies. It is a hummingbird hawk moth and he said: "The other very visible migrant this year has been the hummingbird hawk moth, a day-flying moth, and many were seen by the public, judging by the number of calls received by the Trust's Careline... They fly very quickly about the garden and then hover around a flower in which they insert their very long tongue to extract the nectar. They particularly like valarian and buddleia.
"The moths we see in Britain tend to originate from France, but this makes their journey no less spectacular when considering their size. Sadly it is a one-way journey as there is no evidence of a return migration... Unfortunately hummingbird hawk moths are not known to have successfully bred in this country."
The other migrant referred to by Mike was the painted lady which appeared in large numbers in June and July. They journey from as far as southern Europe looking for suitable unoccupied habitats. They lay eggs on arrival which hatch out later in the year.
So there you are. As Mike said in his article, it has been "a butterfly bonanza".
John Hall © 2003