Monday 7th. March 2011

Frost and clear blue sky , once the sun got up , saw me heading for Sevenoaks Reserve . In the sun , you could feel the warmth , but out of it , the breeze was still icy .
As soon as I reached the main lake , I could see Gulls and other species on islands that were not there on my last visit . It was obvious that my words on last night's post had happened , the water level had been dropped . Sure enough , when I got around to the sluice , a board had been lifted and the level was down a good 6/9 inches . Also obvious was the fact that the Great Crested Grebe's nest had blown away , as the branches that held it on the surface , were now well above that surface , and the pair looked somewhat bemused as they searched for another site . Lets hope they will be luckier next time . Elsewhere around the reserve , things were still quiet , but I did find a Treecreeper , for once on the sunny side of it's tree . The very next tree produced a Goldcrest , pretending to be a Treecreeper , but unfortunately on the shady side . The large Siskin flocks have definitely left now , but I did find just three specimens , as I made my way to the Tower hide , and managed to get a male in the sunshine . As I looked out of the hide , a pair of Coots were being very friendly on the edge of the water , and after the friendlyness , this is how they parted . Very little else was seen , until I spotted a Common Snipe tucked in on the edge of a reedbed . After some time , it made it's way out into the open , but
only for a short while before returning to the reedbed . Several Great Spotted Woodpeckers were seen heard on the way round , some making that high pitched almost laugh , probably as they argued over territory or mates . At the last hide , my mate was on duty near the entrance ,but no time to come in whilst I was in the hide , as he spent the whole time telling all comers about himself . Nothing else was seen here , but I did catch a quick glimpse of a Lesser Redpoll on my way back to the car .
As I headed out of the car park , I spotted a pair of Song Thrushes , fossicking on the ground .
As I watched the pair , one of their cousins , a Redwing came to join in .As the temperature was up around 12C , I headed to the Downs to see if any reptiles thought it was warm enough to come out . An hour and a half later , all I had seen were two Common Lizards , the first for me this year . I did find Spurge Laurel/Daphne laureola in flower , just on the woodland edge of the footpath . Out in the open grassland , the Common Dog Violets were in flower , unlike the ones found in woodland yesterday . The only other interest found was a flock of about 25 Fieldfares , feeding in a field with the sheep .