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 .

Monday 16th. April 2012

With blue sky but hard frost and low temperature this morning , I wasn't sure where I was going as I pulled out of the drive . It felt more like those days during the winter when I visited Sevenoaks Reserve , so that was where I decided to start . Arriving at the car park at just 3C on the car thermometer , a couple of extra layers were put on and off I went . I had read recently that the Little Ringed Plovers had returned , so I made them my first target , heading for the Public Hide , with the small islands in front . As soon as I opened a window , I was met by a very cold blast blowing straight from the North Pole by the feel of it . Not a lot of activity apart from the male Lapwing still

trying to attract a female , and being interupted by another male whilst trying to do so . He was still

making that strange clicking sound as he displayed , and at one point two Greylag Geese approached him to see what all the noise was about . Mind you , they couldn't complain , as two of theirs went

into a noisier display to each other , having just mated . Lots of Pied Wagtails chasing madly from

island to island whilst a drake Shellduck just passed by , looking somewhat aloof . Eventually the Little Ringed Plovers showed up , acting the same as the Pied Wagtails , island hopping . It seemed
as if there was just one female , being relentlessly pursued by two males . Every now and again things quietened down as they took a rest , before resuming the chase . Though some distance off , I

got a few shots during one of the quiet periods . When I couldn't stand the wind any more , I went to see how the Great Crested Grebes were doing , they were nest building on my last visit in the next bay . The nest looked finished , but only one bird was around , looking quite lost . Plenty of birdsong

 around the reserve , especially Blackcaps , they seemed to be everywhere . I don't think there was a time when I didn't hear one singing whilst I was there . Mind you , lots of Wrens were also seen , and

many of them were in full song too . Around the other side of the East Lake , 3 more GCG nest that I

saw being built were also found birdless , and out in the lake a pair were still displaying . From Willow Hide , very few ducks , mainly Canada , Greylag and a few Egyptian Geese . In the field behind , it looked like a new lot of lambs had been born , these in better conditions than the last , having to endure the snow . Looking back at the lake , all the Geese seemed to be heading to the far

side , I then noticed a Fox on the far bank , and the flotilla of Geese , now joined by a male Mute Swan , shadowed the Fox as it made it's way along the bank and disappeared into a reedbed , and out of sight . The flotilla moved to the far end of Snipe Bog Lake , presumably tracking the Fox , where

the Mute Swans were nesting . Now the cob thought that the flotilla was too near his pen , and proceeded to chase them off . On Long Lake I found another Mute Swan nest , this time close to the

path , but unoccupied with eggs showing . Close to the nest was the remains of a predated egg ,

possibly the Fox seen earlier .When I passed it a little later , I'm glad to say the pen had returned and was brooding the remaining eggs . The birdsong continued all the way back to the car park , courtesy

this time of a male Chaffinch and a couple of Treecreepers .. Before spotting me , this male Great

Spotted Woodpecker was working on a new nest hole , but he soon disappeared as I came into view .

Passing North Lake , a Greylag Goose looked very settled on her nest , and around Carter Hide , no Kingfishers , but at least 3 , possibly 4 male Blackcaps trying to woo 2 females , this being a very shy

one . It was about lunchtime now , so decided to head up onto the Downs to look for butterflies and reptiles , the clouds were rolling in now , but I'll finish that part of the day tomorrow .

Saturday 14th. April 2012

I was up early yesterday morning , and after checking the weather forecast , bright morning with cloud and possible showers later , I set off for Old Lodge Reserve Ashdown Forest , to see if I could see some migrants before the leaves on the trees start to blot them out . As I left home there was a mist about  , but that would soon lift with the sunrise I thought . When I reached Biggin Hill the visibility was below 50 metres , but no worries , there was no mention of fog on the forecast . As I crossed the M25 at the bottom of Westerham Hill , it was front and back fog lights , and they stayed on till I pulled into the car park at the reserve . The car thermometer was reading 2C and I was thinking to myself , what am I doing here ? and what chance have I got of connecting with migrants in these conditions ? Fortunately I had put a variety of tops in the car , and proceeded to add to my tee shirt , a sweat shirt , a padded gillet , a heavy fleece along with thermal gloves and a woolly hat , and off I went on my migrant search . At least there was some birdsong in both Chiffchaff and my first Willow Warbler of the year singing in the car park . Entering the reserve was like stepping into some Dickens novel , with 20 metres visibility at best with water dripping from every tree and an almost deathly silence . Eventually a few birds were heard and seen , mainly Chaffinches , then from way down in the valley , the call of my first Cuckoo of the year . I thought I would head over the other side of the reserve and see if he was on one of the dead trees that they seem to favour . As I

approached the second tree , a bird appeared out of the fog , but it was not the migrant , but a Blackbird that started singing in such a doleful way , I thought I was at a funeral . I wandered around getting brief glimpses of a very watery sun , thinking , this is it , but it wasn't , as the fog got thicker and blotted it out again . By 8 o'clock , even with what I had on , I was cold and made my way back for a coffee at the car . As I was drinking it , another migrant hunter arrived at the car park with the greeting 'I thought this lot would have been gone by now' . Within a couple of minutes , the sky opened , the sun shone warmly and the fog where we were lifted . I didn't like to ask him his name as we took advantage of the change and set off , me top path , him left and down . Within seconds , a

flash of orangey red , as a male Common Redstart flew in and landed on some Gorse , staying just long enough to get two shots . Looking along the top path , it was obvious that the clearance was just in the area around the car park and extending just 50 metres beyond , but I headed back into it and down towards the 'Cuckoo trees' again . Even the Blackbird had given up trying when I got there , but the other side of the path produced the first of several sightings of a pair of Woodlark . I didn't

realise it till I got home that they were collecting food for their young , and looking very bedraggled too . This species is an early nester , having the first of two broods in March . At about the same time , I'm pretty sure I heard a very distant Turtle Dove , but couldn't be certain . A couple more Cuckoo calls had me chasing from one part of the reserve to another , in total I heard 8 calls during the day , but never saw the bird , nor did anyone else that I spoke to . A pair of Chiffchaffs kept my

interest for some time ,as I watched the female toing and froing to their chosen Gorse patch , here arriving with some more material , whilst hubby sat in a tree 'chiff-chaffing' away , and sometimes

getting quite excited about the whole thing , or was he hopping mad that the wrong sort of material was being collected ? Shortly afterwards , the miracle happened , when within 2/3 minutes the sky became blue and the fog lifted , this time for good , and eventually the horizon was clear , mind you , it was almost 11 o'clock by now . Distant 'cronking' caught my attention , and I could see two large birds in the distance where the calls were coming from , but visibility still wasn't great , but at least one of them was a Raven , just from the calls . In trying to get closer to the birds quickly , I again

disturbed a female Fallow Deer , which quickly blended into the dead Bracken and disappeared . Once again ., I heard 'cronking' , and headed towards the spot , and of course the calls stopped before I got there . Just as I was about to give up , a Common Buzzard cruised into view in a now clear sky . I watched it drift effortlessly , looking for food from high up . Suddenly , I didn't see where from , a

black Exocet missile rose almost vertically to intercept the Buzzard , on the right in this shot . As it closed in , there was no defiance from the Buzzard , it just turned and ran . With the better weather , more birds were being seen and heard , including one male Common Redstart that was camera shy ,

but did show off his tail colouring nicely as he disappeared . Another patch of Gorse seemed very popular with three pairs of birds , Chiffchaff , Long Tailed Tit and Stonechat , with all species

collecting nesting materials . As usual , the male Stonechat perched on a good viewpoint , and this

time 'the wife' took her turn to pose as well , on the same spot . Things in the valley were quiet , but as I climbed back up the other side , I found two Tree Pipits . One flew off immediately , but the

second stayed a bit longer in the top of a Larch on the MoD land , not in full song or parachuting yet , just tuning up I would say . The climb back up onto the top path was very wet in places with quite a bit of standing water , the leftover from heavy thunderstorms over the last few days no doubt . Reaching the top path , and blowing a bit I must admit , I was rewarded with my best view of a male

Common Redstart of the day , and almost at the car park , what could have been the Willow Warbler

that greeted me on my arrival , still in full flow . With the better weather the more commoner species also put in an appearance , which gave a better finish than start to the visit . A couple of things found on my way around , firstly a very thoughtful birder/dogwalker , had provided the groomed hairs from

their dog , and placed them on the top of a small stake very close to one of the Redstart's favourite nesting areas , nice one . On the way home , I stopped at the Early Purple Orchid spot again , and this time found one flower in bud and a second about to bud , so they haven't gone completely . I also had

a look in the woodland area behind , and found a few plants in various stages , this being the furthest

forward . Also out in flower on the site was Greater Stitchwort / Stellaria holostea , a member of the Pink family .

Tuesday 10th. April 2012

Good to see the sun again this morning after a typical Easter weekend , albeit accompanied by a very cool breeze before things warmed up some . With needing to go to the local tip / recycling yard , and as it would have been my old Dad's 101st. birthday today , I did the tip followed by a visit to the cemetery and then a walk around South Norwood Country Park , before lunch . Entering the Country Park from the tram line / cemetery gate , the sound of Spring was most definitely in the air , with at

least 3 male Blackcaps , singing for supremacy over the scrub patch that lays to the far side of the stream . Along with the scrub , Giant Hogweed / Heracleum mantegazzianum , which was abundant

last year , looks as if it is going to more so this year , having already reached 30cms. out of the ground . Searching the ground amongst this , whilst it is able to do so , were a pair of Song

Thrushes , one stopping just long enough to give an over the shoulder photo opportunity . The small area proved to be most productive for birds , with Great , Blue and Long-tailed Tits , House Sparrow and Dunnock , Greenfinch and Chaffinch , Wren , Chiffchaff and Moorhen all showing well , with flyovers from Woodpigeon , Rose-ringed Parakeet and several Corvid species too . But , I'm afraid that was where the species list came to a stop , until I got around to the lake . I did however come across the first of 4 male Orange Tips , looking a bit chilly in the conditions , but of course had the

wrong lens on , but managed just one shot before a dog came around the corner , and he was off . A couple of Small Whites and a Speckled Wood flew past me before I came across the second Orange

Tip , and this time , I had the Macro lens on , but the wind certainly wasn't helping things , and he was disturbed by a young family wondering what I was doing . The third specimen was found down by the lake , having settled on some White Deadnettle whilst the sun went behind one of the many passing clouds . At least I wasn't disturbed this time , and with the butterfly in an almost torpid state ,

I couldn't help but try for the finger shot , and I'm glad to say , he obliged . The expected species were found on the lake and on the way back to the car , and no sign of any nesting at the Kestrel box .
After lunch , I had a quick look up on the Greensand Ridge for reptiles , admittedly with one eye

constantly on the ever darkening sky . I did better than the last few visits , finding a total of 7 Adders , all males . Interestingly , apart from the first specimen , all the others were in their silvery white & black phase , which probably means that mating will begin soon . It was difficult to
find the majority of the animals today , as they were well tucked away , probably to keep out of that

keen wind , and very easy to walk by the likes of these two , one on each side of the shot . The only one that showed really well was this 'doughnut' found on the way back to the car , coiled up to retain

the heat that it had gained from the sun , but now losing with more cloud cover . A very quick stop up on the Common on the way home , found both LTTit nests still intact and the first leaves bursting

on the Buckthorn , hopefully the female Brimstones will be around soon , laying their eggs on this , their only foodplant . The only other interest found was this ladybird , snuggled down in a cluster of Oak buds . I thought at first that it was a Harlequin , but now I think it is one of the variants of the 2

spot Ladybird / Adalia bipunctata . Strangely , the 'normal' insect is red with two black spots , this variant is black with 4 red spots .
Very shortly after arriving home we had the first of the heavy showers .