Sunday 19th. May 2013

Yesterday morning , I set out looking for damsel/dragonflies at Spring Park Pond , and found none . I moved on across the border into Surrey , to look for butterflies at Hutchinson's Bank , a chalk grassland site managed by London Wildlife Trust , arriving just as the milky sunshine disappeared . The breeze got up and the temperature dropped , but I had a look around the site , sadly not finding a single Orange Tip egg on Garlic Mustard along the bridlepath . Last year , almost every other plant had an egg in it's flower head . A look in the woodland did produce a good show of Woodruff /

Galium odoratum , a member of the Bedstraw family , but very late coming into flower . This is the only place locally where I find this plant . I did find a single Green-veined White on the way back to

the car , and also some Common Vetch / Vicia sativa , a member of the Pea family . Undeterred , and convinced that Burnt Gorse at High Elms LNR would put things right , I set off after lunch for a look . Conditions were not brilliant , but well over an hour searching produced 3 Dingy Skippers . I mentioned recently that Common Milkwort could be found in several colour combinations , and

found the lilac / white variety whilst there . I looked in on the Orchid Bank on my way back to the

car , and was pleased to find my first Fly Orchids of the year . Three specimens , two in flower really made my day , especially as they are so difficult to spot . This shot is of the plant pictured above , and

 has already been cropped . The orchid is in the middle of the picture . This orchid , Ophrys insectifera , gives off sex pheromones that attract male Digger Wasps , and the Wasps try to mate with the flower , resulting in the flowers being pollinated . Once the female Wasps emerge , the Fly Orchids are left alone . Also in flower now are the Common Twayblades , but with green flowers

they are not the showiest of flowers . On the lane back home , the Greater Celandine / Chelidonium majus , is already in flower along with it's Lesser relation . The Greater is a member of the Poppy

family , whereas the Lesser is part of the Buttercup family .
This morning I visited a reptile site almost overlooking the M25 , in an attempt to get back on track , as my last few reptile searches have been terrible . The conditions were very good , thin cloud with the warmth of the sun coming through . Two hours later , another failure , without a single reptile found , I must be losing my touch . Interest found on site included a very freshly emerged Burnet

Companion , a day flying moth , a very mobile sawfly with incredible eyes , that I haven't been able

to identify yet , any suggestions would be gratefully received . Many thanks to Phil / Sharp by Nature , who suggested Rhogogaster picta . I don't think it is that , but because of the family put forward by Phil , I have done some more digging , and think it is R. viridis . Many thanks again Phil for pointing me in the right direction . Just one butterfly , a Small White was all that was recorded . Heading home along a narrow lane , I nearly ran down this male Pheasant

when it appeared from my left and ran across in front of me . I braked , he stood on the other verge with a look that it was all my fault . Further along I spotted something in a field and pulled over hoping that it was a Brown Hare , but it turned out to be a pair of Red-legged Partridges , but as I

watched them feeding a Common Buzzard drifted over the trees beyond , and I wondered what would happen if it drifted over the pair . But the Buzzard drifted harmlessly beyond the trees and out of sight . Back home , whilst having lunch on the patio , a female Orange Tip visited the garden to

nectar on the Honesty .

Friday 17th. May 2013

Oh for yesterday's sun , it was almost back to Winter today .
So , on my way back home yesterday afternoon , I stopped on the causeway at Bough Beech , but with no serious birders about , and the water level still very high , I guessed that there would be nothing special about . Sure enough , the main , and really the only attraction , were the Common Terns on the wing looking for a meal . As I made my way back to the car , two Terns swooped low below the roadside hedge , but didn't reappear . I got the camera from the car and carefully made my

way to the hedge . Looking over , I found the two birds , perched on a piece of driftwood , no more than 20 metres away , on the waters edge . I thought that any second they would see me and be off , but my presence didn't seem to worry them . I believe that from what occurred later , the female is on the left . They sat preening and 'chatting' , until the chat from the female became a constant tirade

towards the male . He seemed to get the message and took off from his perch , no doubt to get away from the noise as anything . He cruised around the North Lake with the other terns , every now and

then dipping down , but then carrying on searching . He seemed to make a point of hovering almost directly overhead of the female , no doubt to show off his prowess to the female , but it only served

for her to get even noisier . He searched for ages , but came back empty billed , which only started

another tirade from the female , this being him listening to her . But , it did re-energise him , and he was soon back on the wing . While he was out of sight of the female , she fell silent , which was a relief to all concerned . But , when the male came into sight , and carrying a fish , the noise ratcheted

up again and even surpassed her loudest . At least the fish would quieten her down I thought , and



that moment was so close . But , at the last second , the male decided to abort the food pass , and the

female went ballistic . From the look of it , the male was repositioning the fish to pass to the female , but all she wanted was the fish . Then , when he got himself sorted , he managed to get himself

directly between the female and the camera . But at least it did silence the female , for as long as it

took to swallow the fish . No sooner had the male touched down on his perch , she was screaming at him for more . He duly obliged , and I headed home , with her screaming still in my ears .
This afternoon in the gloom , I had a walk around the Common and was pleased to find both LTTs ,

foraging for food for what must be youngsters in the nest , great news . But I have to weigh that off against the Brimstone caterpillar found by first finding a Buckthorn leaf with small holes in it , just

what the LTTs would be looking for . And what tree was the LTT photographed in ?
And finally , whilst on the Common a Lancaster  appeared briefly above the tree tops , having just

taken off from Biggin Hill , probably the one that was in the Dam Buster tribute yesterday at the Derwent Dam .

Thursday 16th. May 2013

With the other surveyor away , I headed off this morning up onto the Downs to do the reptile survey . I arrived in mist , but the sun soon burnt that off and brought the temperature up to about 12C . , ideal for reptiles I thought to myself . But , how wrong can one be ? Three hours on the Downs produced not a single Adder , Grass Snake or Common Lizard , had it not been for the 20 Slow Worms

recorded , it would have been a total wipeout . Early Purple Orchids did their best to make up for the

lack of reptiles , with 54 flower spikes in one area , and another 25 about a quarter of a mile away . As usual , I combined recording butterflies , and strangely they were very one sided too . 35 butterflies were recorded from five species , but 29 of them were Dingy Skippers , like this one

nectaring on Common Milkwort - Polygala vulgaris , which is just coming into flower . All the Com. Milkwort seen today was Royal Blue in colour , but mauve , pink , white and combinations of all the colours can be found . Just one Green Hairstreak was recorded , and looked as if it had been many

aerial battles , having lost lots of the green scales that give it it's colour , revealing the brown below , which is the colour of it's upper wings . Of interest , the Green is the only British Hairstreak , not to have tails on the back edge of the wing . A pair of Yellowhammer and a singing male were seen / heard , along with the usual Warblers , Blackcap , Chiffchaff and Common Whitethroat , but nothing more exciting . The hedges were alive with St. Mark's Flies , the first I've seen this year , and well

late , as they are due to appear on St. Mark's Day the 25th. April , but seemed to be doing their best to

 make up for lost time . As if to make up for them , the Noon Fly turned up at 1130 . And talking

flies , the Scorpion Fly , this one is a male , identified by the orange scorpion-like tail , never ceases to amaze me , but I suppose it's mother loves it . A hoverfly led me a merry chase , but I was sure that I hadn't seen this particular species before . I've done some digging since coming home and think that

it is Anthogramma citrofasciatum , but wouldn't put money on it , if I had any . If it is the correct ID , from what I've read it is quite uncommon . I have also been trying to identify a Weevil type beetle

that I also came across . It was about 1.5cms. long , which to me seems large for a Weevil . Any ideas would be appreciated . Lastly , large numbers of large Roman Snails , which they brought with them

for eating , were enjoying the damp conditions following the mist , I can't say the same for my walking boots .
On my way back , I stopped at the small reserve where the 'tree laying' was done , but that too was very quiet , with just a few Orange Tips and Green-veined Whites found on the wing , but also on the

wing was my first Broad-bodied Chaser of the year , a very flighty individual , most probably a male as they emerge first , but all new emergents are this colour , the male abdomen turning to powder blue later , the female remaining the same colouration . Only other interest found was one of many

Water Boatmen - Notonecta glauca , a species that lives it's life upside down .
I did stop at Bough Beech Reservoir as I was passing , but will post that enjoyable visit tomorrow .

Wednesday 15th. May 2013

Another  Winter-like day today , but after being confined to the house yesterday , I had to get out , so wrapped up well , and made for Kelsey Park in Beckenham , which in the conditions , found that I had it almost to myself . By the lake , the wind felt like I was back on top of the Cairngorms , it was bitter . Not a single gull was seen today , they must be all off breeding , so it was quieter than usual , but the Canada Geese in particular , were doing their best to keep the noise level up . My main objective was to see if the Nuthatches were nesting in the large London Plane , but 20 minutes watching their favoured hole , not a single movement was seen . I suppose the female could be on eggs , so I will make another visit in the near future . The pair of Grey Wagtail were on the path nearby , but before I got either in the viewfinder , they flew over the safety fence , stopping briefly on

the wall before flying to the island . A bit further around the lake , a Grey Squirrel appeared from the vegetation with a slice of bread , obviously health conscious as the bread was wholemeal , and

proceeded to have it's breakfast in front of me . Staying on the 'grey' note , across the lake , an adult

Grey Heron was stalking it's breakfast in the shallows . Several Coot and Moorhen nest dotted around the lake , and young Coots seen too , but the most interesting nest was this Moorhen one , looking

like it was built in the roots of a tree that has appeared in the Beck , just before entering the lake . Just hope all is finished before heavy rain and the whole lot gets washed away . Across the bridge and onto the other side of the lake , and tucked well into the edge of the Beck , a female Mandarin with 8

very recently hatched ducklings , the male was not far away watching over the family . I wondered if these might be the pair I photographed looking for a nest site in the trees in the area . It was then back

to 'grey' , when this proud pair of Greylag Geese waddled in with their 9 goslings . Although small ,

the goslings knew exactly what to do with some seed that someone had left . Not to be outdone , they

were followed by a pair of Canada Geese , with exactly the same sized family , and the adult on the right made sure that the noise level was ramped up on their arrival . Over the lake , 10/12 Swallows were hawking for insects , and although the conditions were bad , I spent some time trying to

photograph them in flight . Needless to say , the vast majority went straight in the bin when I got home , but had there been better light , one or two might have been passable . There appeared to be

fewer youngsters in the heronry this year and with it , less noise , but this nest had three juveniles , two having a good workout , the third looking like it had the hump about something or another . Once again I hoped that an adult would return with food whilst I was there , but again it didn't happen . I

did get a close flypast by this adult though . At one end of the heronry island , is the biggest nest that

I have ever seen , measuring at east a metre high , but the strange thing was that it seemed unused . That was until I had a closer look with binoculars , which revealed that squatting is alive and well in

the realms of the Greylag Goose . I would love to be there the day the goslings take their first steps into the big world outside . At 1530 , the sun came out briefly between the clouds , too little , too late .