Tuesday 25th. March 2014

A damp , cool day today at least gave time to catch up on photographs taken over the last few trips out , and to post some of them . The warmth of last week brought more Adders out from their Winter hibernation . I have still only found males , but I have heard of at least one female showing .  Four

males here looked like they had been flattened by a steam roller , but when I passed them later

 on , three of them were charging around as if a female was in the area . A

 

 quick check didn't find one , but that's not saying that there wasn't one around .

 

Once Carol puts out the bird food first thing , anything up to 8/9 Jackdaws swoop down , bullying the other species . They do look smart in their breeding plumage . 

 

Another early morning search for Brown Hares failed again . All that was found was this Rabbit /Meerkat . 

 

Another Adder site almost overlooking the M25 , produced just two males . This one was happy for me to take shots , but swiftly made off when two joggers approached . The sun was out but a very

cool wind blew across the site , so I wasn't expecting to find this Sm .Tortoiseshell sunning itself . On site , I also had my first singing Blackcap of the year .

 

Found my first Bluebells of the year in flower , beaten this year by Warren/Pittswood Birds . 

 

Also found , lots of Cuckoo Flower / Ladies Smock / Cardamine pratensis , a member of the Cabbage family . Hopefully the Orange Tip butterflies who use it as one of the plants they lay eggs on , will follow soon . 

A stop whilst passing at Bough Beech Reservoir found very little on the water , but around the Visitor

Centre , what seems to be a growing colony of House Sparrows were very vocal . Whilst photographing them , the head of a Weasel popped out of a woodpile , and popped back in as quickly . I backed off and waited for it to show again . Half an hour later I gave up , chilled to the bone .

 

Having failed to see a Brambling last Winter , this one was going the same , until , whilst having breakfast this morning , I saw a white rump fly off from below the feeders . A wait at the back bedroom window proved successful , when the bird returned with the other Finches a while later . Unfortunately the shot was through double glazing and drizzle .