Malthouse Meadow

Returning from a job in Worthing I stopped off at the Malthouse Meadow in Sompting.
The old farm buildings on the opposite side of the road are host to a colony of Swallows. These birds return every year and it is fascinating to watch as they swoop in and out though gaps above the barn door. They seemed to be having trouble with an unwelcomed visit from a Magpie which sat on the roof.
They continually dived at it until it was driven off.
malthouse meadow is a public open space opened in 1994 that is managed as wildlife area.
It has wide mown pathways through long grasses and other flora that chooses to be there.
It is sided partly by flint walls which are festooned with Ivy, Close to them Elder and Brambles form thickets. Away from the walls the shrubs give way to herbacous plants such as Creeping Thistle and Common Nettle.
On a day that was breezy with thickening cloud that was to eventually bring a rainy evening I didn't think much wildlife would be on show.
I began inspecting the flowers of Creeping Thistles which are just coming into bloom and noticed several of them had feeding insects.
The thick legged flower beetle was particularly frequent.
Then on a clump of Ragwort I spotted a group of Cinnabar caterpillars . Moving on to a sheltered corner where another large mass of Creeping Thistle grew I counted ten Small Tortoiseshell butterflies, I may have missed one or two as they flitted from one flower to another.
While reaching to get a picture a caught sight of a Squash Bug which flew off as I tried to improve my camera angle.
I returned home after taking a few more photos of some of the flowering plants such as this Common Poppy.