Sandpipers are already on their way south

Pulborough Brooks, West Sussex The sun is slowly dropping towards the horizon and the air is cooling. The sandpipers are still feeding, making the most of this important stopover site on their routeRipples flow across the golden grass as the stems bend back and forth in the breeze. A pair of common blue butterflies – the male sky blue, the female rusty brown – dance over the field. It’s quiet, apart from the tinkling of parties of goldfinches flying over, and the relentless buz