
Frog orchids appear apace. New blooms bordered our path and we were already stepping with care when a slowworm slithered into view. It was interesting to see the response of some dedicated naturalists to my local patch and to share discovery. I spent little time on the escarpment because the hoard rock rose is over, frazzled by the heat of early June. The cliff-edge floral flourish comes earlier. But I noticed with pleasure the intake of breath at vistas from what I call the strawberry pit. Is it a fox bield- a fox trap? It's a five foot plunge into limestone, a pit you don't see until you are right upon it. A secret place.
Tales from the Stave: The Lark Ascending- Vaughan Williams with extracts played by violinist Jennifer Pike. Only a few weeks left of lark song for 2016. I mean to make the most of it.
The Life Scientific with Nick Davies, Professor of Behavioural Ecology at Cambridge. He talks about his studies of cuckoo and reed warbler. You can catch it now on i player. BBC radio 4.
The Last Seabird Summer, Adam Nicolson’s 2 part documentary is about to be repeated on BBC 4. I shall watch it again. Subsequent to my recent trip to the Farne Islands I shall be eager to remind myself of what he has to say about species loss- specifically populations of seabirds.