Yesterday (3 August), I met up with a small group of our conservation work party volunteers to enjoy the fantastic fauna and flora of Stoke and Medley Bottoms, while at the same time performing a survey for the landowner, Nyetimber. Many thanks to Paul, Tom, Gary, Jason and Patrick for assisting with the count; a daunting challenge when the hillsides are a constantly moving cascade of butterflies. We counted 3588 individual butterflies of 24 species, with the following being a composite total for both Bottoms, although some species were more abundant in one than the other, reflecting different levels of humidity and sward conditions. Chalk Hill Blue (862), Adonis Blue (590), Common Blue (554), Brown Argus (49), Small Blue (25), Holly Blue (1), Dingy Skipper (20), Silver-spotted Skipper (4), Small Skipper (2), Brown Hairstreak (1), Small Copper (15), Meadow Brown (742), Small Heath (298), Gatekeeper (27), Speckled Wood (1), Clouded Yellow (59), Brimstone (2), Large White (29), Small White (117), Green-veined White (4), Painted Lady (179), Peacock (3), Red Admiral (3) and Dark Green Fritillary (1). Moths included Humming-bird Hawk-moth (24), Six-belted Clearwing (4, to Gary's lure), Sulphur Pearl (3), Silver-Y (10) and singles of Vestal, Chalk Carpet, Blood-vein, Oak Eggar, Straw-barred Pearl, Wavy-barred Sable, Common Purple and Gold, and Common Knapweed Tortrix. Patrick and then Paul were the last survivors, as lack of water after such a long day in the heat caused our numbers to dwindle (they departed, rather than expired) - we ended up drinking from a cattle trough (using a safe method I should stress - we are all still alive - do not try this at home)! Paul and I finished the day counting the awesome Hornet Robberfly, with these Bottoms supporting the largest colony in the UK. We recorded 46 of these wonderful beasts, finding a mating pair and several with prey. Earlier in the day, we were all treated to close-up views of a lovely Barn Owl. The flora is astonishingly beautiful, and on many occasions we stopped to feast our eyes on the extensive carpets of wildflowers. I work closely with Nyetimber's Sarah George to get the grazing just right here, with the main animals being Belted Galloway cattle. This year, we have achieved near-perfection. Congratulations, Nyetimber, this is now the best chalk grassland habitat in West Sussex.