Monday 3rd.May 2010

Weatherwise , yesterday and this morning were horrible . The only consolation was that , at last , I have managed to sort out the photographs of the 'dancing and mating Adders' , separating the good from the bad and deleting anything that was blurred . The end result , approximately 250 shots that I just can't delete , even having deleted about 150 already . No doubt , on a bad weather day , I will prune them further , but it will take some discipline to arrive at the final album .
After leaving fellow enthusiast Keith at the Orchid Bank on Saturday afternoon , he made his way in the opposite direction to me . On his way , he noticed some seed heads amongst the leaf litter and fresh vegetation , and thought that they might be some last year's Bird's Nest Orchid seed heads . He sent me an email attaching a shot of the heads , and a tree that was close by , and they looked very promising .
I headed off after lunch to see if I could follow Keith's direction and find them . I missed the tree alongside the path that Keith had photographed and 'needle in a haystack' was definitely in the frame after two heavy showers gave me a good soaking . Retracing my steps , I then found the tree , and shortly afterwards , the seed heads . Two groups of 7 and 3 , and looking really promising . To find them flowering this year will be the ultimate proof , and another colony of Bird's Nest Orchids at High Elms will be great news , thanks to Keith's eagle eye .
Heading back to Burnt Gorse , another shower got me , but this was followed by a large patch of blue sky . Not a single butterfly was seen on Burnt Gorse , but I did get a very pleasant half hour at a five bar gate , overlooking the Cudham Valley . In the distance , a Common Buzzard soared to evade the local Corvids and I hoped they might push it my way , but they didn't . In the hedgerows , Common Whitethroat , Blackcap , Chaffinch and Wren were singing in the now warmer sunshine . The woods above Burnt Gorse were sheltering me from the wind , and it was really pleasant . Low over the valley in front of me , a small flock of Swallows were hawking insects , and at the top of the slope 3/4 Swifts were doing the same higher up . The sunshine even encouraged a Skylark to lift and sing . Paradise lasted for about 20 minutes , before the next hail shower fell from the now dark grey sky . Needless to say , no butterflies were seen on the way back to the car , drawing a blank for the whole visit . And for once , also a blank on any photographs .
Two days working now , up on the Greensand Ridge .