Across the nature reserve, the chalk grassland paddocks are alive with colour, fragrance, buzzing, clicking, and a magnetic energy. A gentle breeze lifts butterflies like marbled whites and dark green fritillaries, over the colourful sward, which hums heavily with all sorts of invertebrates.

Whilst invertebrates can be difficult to spot, some of the larger beetles will often sit in large flower heads, just waiting to be spotted by visitors with a keen eye. One of these is the bright shiny green thick-legged flower beetle, also called the swollen-thighed flower beetle. Looking at the males of this species, it’s easy to see where the name comes from, with the beetles possessing muscular green bulges on the femora of their hind legs. Previously, the species had only been recorded from a few areas of southern England, but it is now a much more widespread beetle. They are excellent pollinators, feeding on pollen whilst visiting a wide range of flowers, including a range of umbellifers and oxeye daisies.

With the warm weather, whilst out on walks across the Chilterns, you may choose to duck into the impressive beech dominated woodlands, for some very welcome shade. Whilst here, its well worth checking out the base of some of the beech trees, as you may come across the odd-looking Bird’s-nest orchid. Unlike the colourful showy orchids of the open chalk grassland, Bird’s-nest orchids are non-photosynthetic, so they have no green chlorophyll. This means the orchid doesn’t derive nutrients from sunlight and instead, is reliant on the beech trees. The orchid forms a partnership with mycorrhizal fungi in the soil: this fungus is also linked with the root system of the beech tree, meaning the orchid gets important nutrients and sugars from the tree roots – an amazing bit of ecology.

Back out on the downland, two purple flowers to look out for are two gentian species – the autumn and the Chiltern gentians. Both are found on the nature reserve, and the two hybridise readily, so hybrids can also be found across the site. Telling the rarer Chiltern gentian apart can be tricky, but a key identification feature is the fringe of pure white hairs around the inside of the flower: this fringe of hairs on the autumn gentian are pinker to pale purple in colour.

So, grab your walking boots – this really is a stunning time of year to be out on the nature reserve.