More often heard than seen, the elusive Common Quail stays concealed in dense grass, making every encounter genuinely exceptional. A small covey was seen in the distillery garden in mid July.

Three years ago we had no hedgehogs around the distillery. Last month we saw our first one then, followed by two youngsters last week. They can travel 3km each night looking for food.

See's the Downs transform into one of Britain's richest natural landscapes. Spring awakens the Downs with fresh colour and birdsong. Brown Hares box across the fields, Skylarks climb high above the grassland, Red Kites circle overhead, and early butterflies emerge as juniper flowers and angelica begins its new season of growth.

Fills the Downs with colour and life. Wildflowers blanket the chalk grasslands, butterflies and bees thrive, and young leverets explore the long grasses. As dawn breaks, the Downs come alive with their finest chorus of the year, with Skylarks, Yellowhammers and Corn Buntings filling the morning air with their song.

Paints the Downs with warm colour as hedgerows fill with berries. Our Warblers, Wagtails, Black Caps and Fly Catchers migrate seeking warmer climates. Some colour still shines within the garden until the first frosts, with fungi appearing after rain. Meanwhile the landscape prepares for winter.

Winter reveals the Downs at their wildest. Cold winds sweep across the dark grey chalk hills as flocks of finches, Fieldfares and Redwings gather to feed among the hedgerows. Barn Owls drift silently through the fading light. Crisp frosty mornings transform the landscape into one of remarkable beauty.

Goshawks are elusive woodland hunters, rarely seen on the open Downs. Their secretive nature and low breeding numbers make every sighting exceptional.

The UK's smallest falcon, the Merlin is a fast, agile hunter. We recorded a single sighting in April 2026, making this a memorable highlight. They are the size of a blackbird.

The Little Owl is Britain's smallest breeding owl. We often find one hunting from the walnut tree in our distillery garden, patiently watching for insects and small mammals.

A resident pair of Barn Owls calls the distillery home. We enjoy watching them throughout the seasons, from raising young owlets to silently hunting the Downs at dusk.

A striking upland thrush, the Ring Ouzel pauses on the Downs during spring migration. We were fortunate to record this beautiful traveller passing through.

The elusive Spotted Flycatcher visits our distillery garden each summer, expertly catching insects in flight before quietly disappearing into the trees once more.

A true summer visitor. The Wood Warbler has only appeared four times and only in the early mornings, its beautiful song echoing through the distillery garden.

The explosive song of the Cetti's Warbler announces its arrival each spring. We hear and occasionally glimpse this elusive visitor around the distillery.

Shy and elusive, Bullfinches are becoming increasingly scarce across Britain. Their gentle presence and beautiful colours make every sighting a real privilege.

From first light until evening, Skylarks fill the skies above the distillery with one of Britain's most iconic songs throughout spring and summer, whilst fluttering high in the skies.

The Yellowhammer's distinctive song welcomes visitors along the road to the distillery, despite the species declining by more than 60% nationwide.

The distinctive jangling song of the Corn Bunting will stop you in your tracks. This farmland specialist has declined by 80%, making every sighting valuable.

Is Chalkdown land.

Distillery profile ranking.

Of bird recorded at distillery.

Red listed species at distillery.

The hummingbird hawk-moth is a small, day-flying hawk-moth. It is a summer visitor to the UK, migrating from Southern Europe. It can fly 35KM a day. Favoured foods are verbena, valerian, bergmot and salvias.

It is one of Britain's most familiar butterflies, regularly visiting gardens to feed on nectar from verbena, buddleia and other summer flowers. Its caterpillars rely almost entirely on common nettles for food.

A spectacular woodland butterfly, the silver-washed fritillary drifts effortlessly through sunlit clearings, visiting brambles, thistles and other nectar-rich flowers. We have only see this twice.

Relies on wormwood as its larval food plant. Our thriving garden supports healthy populations of wormwood, which is a companion plant to deter the deer. It can be seen flying around the yarrow.

This sighting was especially exciting, as I have never seen Glow Worms on the downs before. These were seen near the cedar trees, next to the dense undergrowth.

In 2025 we had colony of Red Tail Bumble bees nesting in the garden in an old vole hole. Their favoured nectar was from saliva and lavender, sadly we have not seen them in 2026.

Acanthus hungaricus 'White Lips' has become one of the most important plants in our garden, attracting the ruderal bumblebee. It is one of Britain's largest native bumblebees.

Dark Bush-crickets help control insects, feed wildlife and thrive in bio-diverse gardens, making them a welcome sign of healthy, undisturbed habitat. Our hedgehog loves them!