Tuesday 4th. March 2014

Didn't want to travel too far today , so with Phil / Sharp by Nature posting recently sightings of Water Vole and Bittern recently at Hew Hythe , that's where I headed . As Phil doesn't get down there so often these days , I took the chance , and trespassed onto his patch . I arrived in beautiful sunshine , albeit a bit nippy . Parking at the water treatment plant entrance , I followed two ladies with their dogs along the track towards the bridge over the millstream . They were soon well ahead , and to my

surprise , sitting on the far bank of the ditch was a Water Vole , and I had only been on site for a matter of minutes . I followed it along the ditch as it searched out it's breakfast , taking little notice of me . Eventually , it entered the water , and a few seconds later dived , and that was the last I saw of

it . On the way up to the scrub areas , hope of hearing an early migrant didn't materialise , bit I must admit , birdsong as a whole was rather limited on such a sunny morning . En route , a splash of

colour , along with the Blackthorn/Sloe , this Wild  Cherry / Prunus avium , earlier than usual .
The ditch alongside the scrub areas , which at the moment look more like marshes , provided a

second Water Vole , sat in the sunshine , seemingly contemplating it's own reflection in the water . This one was not so happy to sit and be photographed , swimming to some dead reeds , and

disappearing amongst them , not to be seen again . Crossing the railway line to an almost birdless Abbey Mead and a very muddy trudge between it and the river , produced very little apart from Grey Herons flying to and from their nests on the far bank .Then , as I turned the corner between Abbey Mead and the Sunken Marsh , I was caught red-handed by the man himself , Phil . He too was looking for the Bittern in the area , so we joined forces , searching the reedbed . Phil's younger eyes did get a fleeting glimpse of a Bittern , but I failed to do so . A look at the river produced nothing more than a few gulls and a pair of Teal on the far bank , but later we did see a distant Common Buzzard in the area . A look from the high ground between Abbey Mead and Brooklands didn't refind the Bittern , but further along we found Coltsfoot / Tussilago farfara in flower , probably the second

of the Daisy family to flower after Winter Heliotrope . Very little seen back to the railway crossing , or for that matter , down towards the diver's bridge . We headed towards where I had the second

Water Vole , and a bit further down the ditch , we found a small animal , possibly one of last year's young . This animal performed very well , the cameras continually clicking . A bit later , a larger

animal appeared , possibly a female adult , and after several trips up the bank , returned with nettle leaves ands sat in the open to eat them . This was my fourth animal . We decided to leave the pair in peace , heading back towards the diver's bridge , noticing quite a lot of evidence of Water Voles on the far bank . As we looked at the evidence , Phil noticed the bankside vegetation moving on our side . We slowly worked our way to the area , to find a Water Vole , about a metre up the vegetation ,

looking for fresh leaves . It sat there motionless for about half a minute , before dropping back down to the bank . That one made the day , but it wasn't over yet , for as we walked further along the ditch , we had a small animal , swimming away from us , and only in view for a few seconds , before diving into the bankside vegetation . We both assumed Water Vole , but talking about it later , it was smaller than the youngster seen earlier , and given that the mating season is only just about to start , we thought that it could just have been a Water Shrew . They have been seen in the area in the past , but we will never be certain . We finally got to the diver's bridge , but found nothing there , and a final look for a Bittern at it's usual spot , in previous years , failed too , probably due to the abnormal amount of water in the lake . There we split , Phil heading along the millstream to his car and me back to mine at the other entrance . A very enjoyable few hours , and good to meet up and catch up Phil .

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 .

Monday 24th. February 2014

Started off this morning working down the bottom of the garden that I have been putting off due to the weather . Chilly to start , but soon warming up and becoming teeshirt weather . By 10 o'clock I decided to put the job on hold till this afternoon , and headed off to the Greensand Ridge to see if the weather had encouraged any reptiles from their hibernation . If any were to be found so early in the season , they would be very close to their hibernacular , so concentrated on those areas . The car thermometyer was showing 10C on arrival , and I think it might have gone up a degree or two whilst I was there . Nothing was found for a while , even though likely , sunny spots were checked out . I must admit , given the amount of rain since they went into hibernation , the thought as to whether any would survive often went through my head during those wet days and nights . But thankfully , at least some have survived as I found three males sunning themselves , as expected , very close to

hibernacular . The first was in a tight 'doughnut, a very striking yellow/black animal . The second was

much more chilled out , and more out in the open , with a more usual light brown/black colouration .

He changed position several times , once showing well the vertical pupil of the species . The third

animal was getting the maximum from the sun by flattening his body to get the maximum exposed . Only three animals , but it is a good start , lets hope the rest survived too .
It was still sunny as I headed home for lunch , and decided on a quick look around the Common . The warm sun had brought some flies and sheildbugs out , and also 2 possibly 3 male Brimstone

butterflies . I watched one land some 50 metres away and it took quite a search to find him , looking resplendent in the midday sun . He must have found a good place to hibernate , as he looked as if he had just hatched , but would have happened last Autumn . Maybe he was even the one that hatched out of the pupa case that I found back then , you never know . Walking back to the car , the sun was

also showing off  the lichen - Cladonia cristatella , which has many common names including British Soldiers , Matchstick Lichen and Red Caps . The red parts produce the spores to reproduce the species .
Whilst the sun was out , it really did feel like Spring , but , writing this , clouds have drawn over , and once again rain and wind is on it's way . It was nice whilst it lasted .
And yes , I did finish the job down the garden this afternoon .

Saturday 22nd. February 2014

Was glad to get out in sunshine yesterday , although my chosen area , the Isle of Sheppey ,was moderated  somewhat by a stiff , very cool wind . Elmley Reserve was my first stop , and along the

track , plenty of Lapwing were displaying both on the ground and in the air . Looking towards the bridge , a Buzzard was looking for a rabbit breakfast , but soon drifted off . Just 2 Marsh Harrier

sightings , both at distance . Skylarks were singing all the way , but by far the most numerous species

were the Starling , so many it would be impossible to estimate . Flocks would appear and descend on a small area . Above is just one small section of this flock .They would start feeding , then like an army of ants start moving forwards , by means of the ones at the back overflying the others , and

landing just in front . The birds in flight were just that in the shot above , as the noisy carpet of birds moved forward . 5+ Little Egrets making the most of the well filled hollows on either side of the

track , this individual having just got it's breakfast , but the new larger scrapes held very little . Not a sign of a Hare , which I was hoping for either to or from the car park . The scrape behind the toilets was almost empty , so I decided to turn around and head for Leysdown . On the way back down the

track , one of the Skylarks dropped in , just in front of the car , but two seconds later was gone . I

don't remember seeing a Rook at Elmley before , but there was a singleton there today . En route , I decided to have a look at Capel Fleet and the raptor viewpoint , bad mistake as several tractor and trailers were ferrying manure past the viewpoint then returning for more , little wonder that not much was seen . I did have another MH sighting , and whilst watching was aware of something moving on the track behind . It turned out to be two Red-legged Partridge and came within 5 metres of the car , but as they walked past , all I could see was their legs and bottom half of their bodies , the rest beind one of the fence rails , I felt gutted , as all my shots are at distance , and usual from the back as they scamper away . With nothing else about , I started the car and headed out , turning the corner I see one of the birds standing out in the open on the flooded track . Expecting it to disappear I stopped and

reached for the camera , and it was still there . And there it stayed for a couple of minutes , not

moving much , but at least I've got e few shots of the species , head-on now . I finally made it to Leysdown with the tide well on the way in . Gulls were the main species , with many of the Black-

headed already living up to their name , like this one trying to stay on the sea wall in the wind . Just a handful of Brent Geese flying well out were all that were seen . Several Oystercatchers , busily

feeding as were the Sanderling with the first one , and another was escorting a Turnstone . Although named after one crustacean , the Oystercatchers seemed to be dining on another , the humble Winkle , which I noticed they always took to water to 'winkle' out their meal . I got halfway down the

Shellness track to find repairs being done , so turned back , finding several Pied Wagtails looking for left over lunch crumbs . Then the noisiest part of the day . I could see a large number of gulls almost the end of the parking area , and on the ground there seemed to be a large pile of chips and bread and

probably other things as well . Three species were attracted and getting home found I had a shot of

all three in flight in the same frame , Herring ( fingers crossed ) , Common and lots of Black-headed .

Three juvenile Herring Gulls ,( fingers crossed ) were the bullies of the bunch , fighting the other

gulls both in the air and when they landed , chasing off as many of the other birds to gorge

themselves . It was strange to see so many birds flying around with chips etc in their bills .Leaving Leysdown , I had a second quick look along Harty Ferry Road , but still busy with tractors , but did

find a few Corn Buntings , most were in the lea of the wind but the odd one braved it . The decision

to leave was made for me when this shower cloud loomed into the picture .
I started this last night , did a bit before leaving for hedgelaying , for once in great conditions , and just finished it on my return .

Covered by insurance ?

During a storm , ridge tiles fall from your neighbour's house , landing on your car , smashing the windscreen and doing damage to the body/paintwork . Who is to blame and who pays for repairs ?
Last Saturday morning I went out into the carport to load up my car for hedgelaying , to find the windscreen shattered and other damage . Parts of my neighbour's ridge tiles were still on the car , parts teetering on the smashed carport roof and the rest splattered across the carport floor having

skidded down the side and over the bonnet of the car . I didn't make it to hedgelaying .
I waited till a reasonable hour , then knocked on my neighbour's door and told her what had happened , showing her the damage to the car and the missing ridge tiles from her roof . She then went back in to ring her insurance company , whilst I started ringing for a replacement windscreen , without any joy and was told I would have to wait till Monday before they would get it in stock .
Later in the day my neighbour came out to tell me that her insurance company had told her that they were not liable for any damage to my car , but they would pay to have new ridge tiles put back up on her roof , and that I would have to claim on my car insurance , on which I opted for a £400 excess at renewal to keep the premium down , and also meaning higher premiums in the future for making the claim . After getting the new windscreen fitted on Monday morning , with a £60 excess , I went to my insurer's preferred bodyshop to get an estimate for the repairs . Verbally , I was told it would be in the region of £900 but it would be sent to my insurer . A chat with the claims dept. confirmed that my neighbour's insurers were not liable for the damage to my car , unless I , not them , could prove neglect/non maintenance on her roof . As it happens , the ridge on the other side of the roof came off in the winds about 6/8 weeks ago , but no repairs have been done , and in between times I advised her to have the rest of the ridge tiles checked over when the repairs were being done .
Overnight I started thinking about what level of damage would my insurer decide to write off my 12 year old vehicle with 133,000 miles on the clock , so this morning I got back to them and was told that the company policy was to write off all 10 year + vehicles involved in claims , and if that happened , I would get £400 less because of the excess . I look after my vehicle , a 4x4 which means I can drive over fields whilst hedgelaying , and do not want it written off , meaning that I would have to withdraw my claim and put the whole thing down to 'life' or 'an act of god', and my neighbour and her insurers get away scot free , don't you just love this insurance con , you are required by law to insure your car , but what has happened to third party cover ? and was it an 'act of god' that killed the lady taxi driver in London and who will compensate her family ?
I spent today stripping the car port roof and replacing the busted sheets , down to me as well as my Home insurance has a £100 excess , and I spent less than that buying the sheets .
An incident that opened my eyes , and might be worth remembering for the future , and the remaining ridge tiles still haven't been looked at , they were all put on at the same time .
On a brighter note , Spring was in the air in the garden in the sun this weekend , with a pair of

RRParakeets getting very up close , the male on the right with the collar , females and juvenile not so , and we have been getting regular visits from up to three House Sparrows , shot taken through

double glazing , wonder if they will use the communal boxes this year ?