Friday 16th.April 2010

After doing a few jobs this morning , I had an hour before lunch at an Adder site . After getting just one tail yesterday , in what I thought were good reptile conditions , I thought I was pushing my luck , as it was much cooler and no sign of the sun at all . Also , on this site , there are no refugia laid . So , against all the odds , I finish up with 11 Adders , all males , in groups of 3,3,2,2 and 1 . I don't think I'll ever work reptiles out . The only other interest found was Wild Cherry coming into blossom . I was glad to get home for lunch , and hot soup was spot on .
Mid afternoon , the cloud did finally break and the warmth of the sun was welcomed . I decided to have a quick look at the Farm lake , while conditions were reasonable . The Coltsfoot , that had brightened the banks , has now started to go over , to be followed by the pappas , seed head , then the large heart shaped with pointed teeth leaves . I found a lot of Salad Burnet plants , and the odd ones already had flower buds , but none had yet opened . On the far side of the lake , where they flowered last year , Common Spotted Orchids are showing well , much stronger than the specimens that I found at High Elms the other day . There was no sign of the female Mallard , nor of her 9 youngsters . Both Little Grebes were seen and a pair of Moorhen . The Coots are still caring well for their two youngsters , and they have already put on quite a bit of weight . As I left the Farm Lake , I spotted a migrant on the wires along the bottom lane , hopefully , it will find a mate , and breed successfully in the stables , as they did last year .