I've spent a good part of today exploring the Arun Valley in Sussex It's a picturesque, very rural landscape that looks especially good under a sharp blue autumn sky



And autumn is here for sure: the horse chestnuts are dropping conkers, some of which will end up being threaded with string and swung at other conkers for school games



It's a busy time of year for starlings. Our resident population will be augmented with migrants from further north before much longer



Invertebrates, on the other hand, will soon be settling down, notwithstanding the UK's much-reported current spider population boom Dragonflies aren't exactly my speciality, because I hardly see them at all at home in the high and dry North Downs, but this is one of the hawkers:



...and this, one of the darters, and I'd appreciate an ID from someone who knows more about this ancient family than I!



Relaxation seemed the order of the day Rabbits scratched an itch or two:



And herons examined their feet



While fallow deer (incidentally, the largest wild mammal that I have at home in Surrey) teased the camera from the shadows



But over them all, someone else was watching With thanks to my father for recognising that the tiny speck of white in a distant tree was actually a...peregrine falcon!



This is the bullet of the animal kingdom, usually considered to be the fastest animal on earth: it can apparently dive at 200mph, but when it stays still, it really stays still

This is a good time of year