Tuesday 17th. April 2012

By the time I got parked and up onto the Downs , that blue sky was becoming very limited , with a bank of cloud rolling in . The wind bringing that cloud was also blowing across the Downs , and it still felt cool without the sun . I first checked on the Early Purple Orchids , but they are still just rosettes of spotted leaves , with no sign of a flower spike . In it's usual place between two areas of

chalk grassland , a Speckled Wood was being buffeted by the wind in front of me , but managed to find a sheltered spot and allowed a couple of shots . Within a few minutes , a surprise in the form of a

juvenile , last year's , Adder , in an area where I have never found the species before . Good news , as the female Adder always returns to her hibernacular to give birth , and consequently , those young are usually found around that hibernacular at this time of year . This will be an area to keep a good eye on . I had seen Dingy Skippers reported down on the South Downs recently and was hoping that they might be showing up here too , given the usual short delay between the two areas , and sure

enough , the first of 8 of the species lifted from the grass in front of me . Dingy being a good description of this butterfly that looks more like a moth , but that dingy colouration means that it is really well camouflaged . About the sixth or seventh found was during a prolonged cloudy period ,

which gave the opportunity for the shot on the finger . Across the grassland some different flowers

are coming into bloom , like this Common Milkwort / Polygala vulgaris . Of interest , as well as this blue variety , it can also be found in mauve , pink or white . Whilst on the wooded edges of the

grassland , Yellow Archangel /Lamiastrum galeobdolon , a member of the large Labiate , square stems , family , is helping to brighten things up . Whilst photographing one of the Dingy Skippers , I notice movement down amongst the grass roots , and on having a good look , found that although the

year is still young , life and death scenes are already being played out . I couldn't make out what exactly was happening , so I picked up the two involved , which turned out to be a Crab Spider /

Xysticus cristatus , who had managed to get hold of one of the many small miner bees that were on the wing , and as if to prove the theory that 'size doesn't matter ' , the Crab Spider seemed to be well on top of the contest . A short time later , I found another Crab Spider , this time it was the species that can change it's colour to suit the flower which it uses to ambush it's prey as they come to feed .

This one is Misumena vatia , and can come in white , green and the yellow form , some spotted , some not , and it looks like another of the mining bees as it's meal . Needless to say , the ambient

conditions were not really conducive to finding many reptiles , but over the visit , 7 Slow Worms ,

5 Common Lizards , including this prehistoric looking individual , and a male Adder that was

pointed out by another enthusiast , who had seen him attempt to muscle in on a pairs courting , but was seen off very easily by the larger male . No sign of any Orange Tips , but the other food plant ,

on which the female will lay her eggs , Alliara petiolata / Garlic Mustard or Jack-by-the Hedge , is now coming into flower . The female will also use Cardamine pratensis / Cuckoo Flower or Lady's Smock or Milk Maids , depending where you come from . Of interest , also seen a Fox and a Sparrowhawk , but no sign of Common Whitethroat yet . And finally , given that the topsoil over the

chalk is very thin in places , thus little nutrient , very small , stunted flowers , like this Cowslip are found . I used the pencil rather than the 35mm film canister so as not to overwhelm the little thing .