Monday 2nd. April 2012

The 'tree laying' went well over the weekend , and the finished article did have the appearance of a hedge , but moreover , will be much better habitat for wildlife in the area . On Saturday morning , just as I got on site , a Red Kite was seen overhead , before being chased off by a Corvid . With unexpectedly more sunshine on Sunday , a few butterfly species were recorded , being Orange Tip 

pictured , Holly Blue and Comma . I look forward to returning to the Reserve later in the year . Today I decided to do the first butterfly transect of the year at High Elms Country Park , in once again better weather conditions than expected , stopping off on the way near the Visitor Centre to see

how the Butterbur / Petasites hybridus , a member of the Daisy family , and closely related to Winter Heliotrope , probably the earliest plant to flower . . Unfortunately no one told the butterflies , and the

two hour produced a single male Orange Tip , a single Small White and two Comma , one pictured .

With the lack of butterflies other subjects were sought , like this distant Nuthatch , unusually found feeding with it's partner on one of the main paths . Hearing Common Buzzards outside the Country Park , two birds swept into view at a distance , settling on the same branch of a large tree . Next minute they were mating , and the next , one bird dropped out of sight , whilst the other rose on thermals until out of sight , and of course I only took the Macro lens for the butterflies . If the old

saying is right , 'Oak before Ash , in for a splash' the two trees certainly bear it out , as the Oak buds

are bursting open , whilst the Ash buds are still tight shut , not a bad judge if we are to return to Winter in the next few days . In the shady woodland , Spurge Laurel / Daphne laureol, a member of

the Daphne family was found in flower , these to be followed by black berry fruits later in the year .

Also in flower , one of the very few evergreen , native trees , Box / Buxus sempervirens , and even though the Conservation Field has been mowed to within an inch of it's life , a few Cowslips are

coming into flower . And finally , on the way back to the car park , a small patch of Wood Sorrel /

Oxalis acetosella .