Tuesday 8th. May 2012

Another grey start , so I headed to Down House to do the bird survey . 23 species were recorded , about average . Summer migrants recorded were Blackcap , Chiffchaff , Common Whitethroat and Swallow . No sign of the Roe Deer and the only species to make it to the viewfinder was this Song

Thrush , singing his heart out in the formal garden . I intended going on to the Greensand Ridge to look for reptiles , but the promised clearance looked unlikely in the near future , so I headed for New Hythe , patch of fellow Blogger Phil / Sharp by Nature , to see if I could get into the Nightingale fest that has been going on down there . I parked at the waterworks entrance , and within 20 metres had the first of many Nightingales singing , in fact I had three birds before I got to the diver's bridge . Also singing were Common Whitethroats , Willow Warlbers and Reed Warblers . As usual , I had a look around the ditch for any signs of Water Vole , and saw movement some way down the ditch . It seemed a small specimen , and indeed turned out to be a juvenile . I watched as is swam to where a

Bramble stem from the bush on the bank had reached the water . It then proceeded to climb the stem to get to the upper leaves . Once it  to where the stem went more horizontal , it proceeded to strip off the leave to eat . At first it seemed to eat every leaf but the ones between it and the camera , but

eventually it moved more into the open , allowing better shots . A second juvenile appeared but kept well under cover amongst the dead reed stems . While mesmerised by the climber , I saw another local blogger , Alan Woodcock / Snodland and Surrounding Area , about to cross the bridge and beckoned him over . We had met in Snodland the previous winter when the Waxwings were over in good numbers . Alan was pleased to get some shots , as he told me he only had shots of adults . Alan also put me on to the Nightingale hotspot , so after the climber dropped into the water and disappeared into the bank , I went back into Nightingale mode at the Brook House track , and was not disappointed , finding good numbers , even though it was almost midday , when things tend to go

quieter . I also manage to get the shutter going on one individual , I think he was too interested in what he was singing to worry about me . Also found on the scrub area were St.Georges Mushrooms /

Tricholoma gambosum . By now , the clearance in the weather had become heavy drizzle , so |I headed back to the car and had my lunch . I decided to still call at the Greensand Ridge on the way home and got there in not much better conditions than leaving New Hythe . The first three small

sights didn't produce much as regards reptiles , but they did produce a Peacock butterfly , it must have seen the same forecast as I did , and another held about a dozen Scorpion Flies , all males ,

identified by the orange Scorpion -like tail . The reptiles started coming , 2 Common Lizards , 8

Slow Worms , including a couple of large males with blue spots , 6 Grass Snakes of assorted ages ,

including one that obviously didn't want to be recognised , all found under refugia . With the conditions , I was resigned to not finding an Adder , but then came across this large female , and I'm

reasonably sure I saw her on my last visit , but some 150 metres distant from today's position . As well as the Peacock , I recorded two male Orange Tips , this one looking like he wished he hadn't

bothered emerging . Along with the Bluebells and Greater Stitchwort , Red Campion / Silene dioica ,

a member of the Pink family is trying to cheer things up , along with swathes of Yellow Archangel /

Lamiastrum galeobdolon , a member of the large Labiate family . Some plants have already gone

through their flowering period , and fruits are starting to form , like Bilberry / Vaccinium myrtillus , a member of the Heath family .
And the clearance ? Half way home from the Greensand Ridge , the sun came out , the temperature rose by 5C , it was warm , but it didn't last for long .
As I said , not a sign of the local blogger at New Hythe , probably boning up on Rat Pack numbers at home .