Those who love our Lancashire countryside should not waste a minute of time spent in the long days of June to August.

Hopefully there will be some sunshine and there will be plenty of picnic time.

In late May, I spent time around Slaidburn and actually heard both a cuckoo and a skylark.

Sadly both these species are rare these days.

Cold weather tells us to walk fast and we therefore see less. In summer we can stroll along more gently and hopefully miss ‘nowt’.

My labrador went slowly because of the heat and like me, she is “knocking on a bit”.

She did however sniff out a leveret lying still in the grass.

The temptation to pick it up has to be resisted. The little creature is not abandoned but is lying still waiting for its mother to come to feed it.

To misquote something we should “let sleeping leverets lie”. This was a wonderful day out and I did not have to move very fast.

Perfect!

FLOCKS OF STARLINGS RETURNING TO ROOST

Not many years ago there were so many starlings around our towns that they were regarded as a health hazard because of their droppings.

Huge numbers roosted around Blackburn Cathedral for example that the building itself was covered and the gardens damaged.

In recent years starlings have declined and sightings have become quite rare.

On May 29, I had a large flock of starlings whirling around my bird table and my neighbours Vera Fogg and June Lund reported similar flocks.

What I am hoping for is something in between because the starling is really a very beautiful bird, especially when its feathers reflect the sunlight.

It will be interesting to see if numbers start to build up again.

What we do not want, however, are huge flocks which would damage the environment. Starlings may be beautiful but so are the gardens surrounding Blackburn Cathedral.

GREEN STREAK FLIES BY IN PENDLE

On May 25, Sue Stanley, of Roughlee, saw and photographed a green hairstreak butterfly on the Ogden reservoir side of Pendle Hill. As its name implies this butterfly is very green and is therefore well camouflaged against both trees and grass.

The male can be identified by an obvious ‘streak’ or marking along the wing. Males are seen more often than females because they stay still on vegetation and wait for a female to pass by. She is then chased and after mating eggs are laid.

I have only previously seen one other green hairstreak in East Lancashire but I am sure that I may not have looked closely enough. I would be interested to hear of any other sightings of this species made by people like Sue and her friend Gary.