Friday 28th. February 2014

A catch up on a few things found whilst out and about , at a time when the weather can't decide whether Spring is here , or not .

Nothing different on the feeders in the woodland , but lifting a few bits and pieces , produced my first newt of the year , a Great Crested variety .

Don't seem to have got many Winter Thrushes in the viewfinder this Winter . A bit of sunshine would have made a big difference to the shot .

2 of 7/8 female Pheasants , mopping up under the feeders in the orchard at Bough Beech . Sun wouldn't have gone amiss here either .

Sunshine on a visit to Sevenoaks Reserve , but very little about apart from hundreds of gulls . When they all took of , it looked like a blizzard . Strangest thing found , was this male Mandarin following every move made by the Greylag Goose in front .

The sunshine continued up on the Downs , to begin with , and this male Brimstone was making the most of it .

Also on the wing , 5 Small Tortoiseshells , but being buffeted by the stiff breeze .

3 Adders were found on a woodland edge , this one scented me and headed down into the tree roots , probably his hibernacular . The hazy area at the bottom of the shot was the wire fencing I was shooting through .

A little later , he had a look from his underground home to see if I had gone .

A second animal posed briefly for a shot , but seconds later was heading underground .

The visit also produced my first Slow Worm of the year ,

and also first flowering Primroses .

This Common Lizard , still in hibernation , was found under a felt , just in a small depression in the ground . Luckily the temperature hasn't dropped that low this Winter , or it could have been in trouble .

Managed to break 3 , when during some pre midday sunshine today , I managed to find 4 Adders , but the sun didn't last long and they disappeared with it .