Friday 27th.March 2009

Grey skies and the constant threat of rain , gave me the chance to catch up with some chores this morning . The threat never really came to anything until lunch time , when it tipped it down , then cleared to almost blue skies . The forecast was for heavier showers in the afternoon , but seeing as they got it wrong once , I thought I would take a chance , and headed off to the Greensand Ridge . Just my luck , as I arrived , so did the clouds , and a cool wind . I decided that as I was there , I would turn some tins , not expecting much in those conditions . Well , I wasn't disappointed , after turning 19 pairs of refugia , I had amassed one Slow Worm .

Fortunately , away from the refugia , I found a single and a pair of male Adders laying out , even though there was no sign of the sun . The singleton looked enormous , as Adders have the ability to flatten out their bodies , so that the maximun area can be warmed , when the sun comes out . The pair together were also using the same strategy , how much warmth they were getting was debatable .Whilst walking , I found the first Bluebell of the year in flower , well just two bells in flower . Also found was the first member of the Speedwell family in flower . A large family this one , and the species found was Common Field Speedwell , identified by the bottom petal of the flower being white , whereas the other three are blue with darker blue veins .

Few insects were around on this chilly afternoon , but the orange coloured Dung fly was around in reasonable numbers , and a few large Buff Tailed Bumblebees were seen . Not much for them to feed on , but one opportunity was the catkins of Goat Willow , providing nectar in hard times . The second site I visited did no better under refugia than the first . We have cleared Gorse , up to three metres high from the site earlier in the year , but have left Juniper , one of only four native evergreen trees , in the hope that they will regenerate , now they have room and light . One male Adder was found in amongst last year's bracken .

On the third site visited , at last animals were found under the refugia . A single Common Lizard was found under one , and surprisingly it had already started to slough , shed it's old skin , as can be seen on it's hind legs . A trio of adult Slow Worms were found under another refugia , must have been keeping each other warm .

Birdwise , things were very quiet , not helped by the wind . Passing a private lake , I did see 18 Greylag and 11 Canada Geese , 2 Tufted Duck and the odd Coot and Moorhen . Probably the best of the rest was hearing a Nuthatch and Green Woodpecker and a brief glimpse of a Sparrowhawk , working the woodland edge and a calling Chiffchaff . At least I kept dry , and within half an hour of getting back home , the heavens opened again .