Waltham Brooks, West Sussex Now breeding has finished, the numbers of starlings gathering together are building up again, and will rise into the thousands in the coming months

The river Arun has slowed almost to a stop, the bare strip of dried earth along the bank betraying the low water level. Large bunches of dark green weed are exposed. Along the grassy footpath, there are a still a few thistles in bloom, glowing purple in the evening sunshine, but many other thistle heads have now exploded, trailing their down of sticky, spindly white seeds. It’s warm and close, but the breeze is slowly bringing a band of black cloud from the west.

Related: Country diary: South Downs, near Arundel: Grey partridges have become a rare sight on the Downs, except here

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Source: Guardian Environment