Birding and other distractions

A sunny morning so I made my third visit to RCP this month. I found a male Adder near the pond, not noticing at first that a female was also present such was her camouflage. The male had already sloughed and looked very handsome. In the next field another male was found though this one hadn't sloughed. A Grass Snake wasn't hanging around to have his/her picture taken. The fourth Adder for the day was a large female in RDE, probably an individual I'd seen the previous year. Butterflies were active in the sunny conditions and included my first Small Tortoiseshell of the year. Male Adder with female just visible. As above Unsloughed male Adder Large female Adder Small Tortoiseshell  Peacock 

After dipping Large Tortoiseshell in Birchett Wood (Orlestone) last week I made a second attempt today as the weather was so good, with cloudless skies and warm sunshine. Arriving at 10:15 I bumped into Neil Hulme from Sussex who described the previous days sightings in the area. He said that nearby Faggs Wood had also been good, especially in the afternoon when four LT were seen. Together with Keith and Colin we spent about two hours in Birchett searching the woodland rides, seeing Brimstone, Peacock and Comma but not the hoped for LT. Then on to Faggs Wood which was quiet to start with until reaching the ride where sightings had occurred yesterday. At 1:30 a LT was found, which then showed very well for the next 30 minutes, often settling on tree trunks. At one point it was joined by a second individual. The flight of the butterfly was rather elegant, frequently gliding on flat wings. After that I decided to walk back but at the other end of the ride someone pointed out another LT. T...

The weather fortunately held for most of this visit with some sunshine and generally calm conditions. However, on the walk back it changed to give snow showers, albeit small granular particles. The main target today was Lesser Spotted Woodpecker which typically took some finding. One was eventually heard calling, then later a male was seen high up in trees, giving quite good views. These may well have been different birds as the locations were some distance apart. It was difficult to photograph the bird as my poor effort shows. A number of Firecrest were heard singing in an area with stands of holly. A couple were seen though only one well. Other birds included many Coal Tits, singing Mistle Thrush, and near the end a single Red Kite. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker  Photo by Keith Cutting  Butchers Broom

Foggy to start with but the sun broke through en route to Bough Beech to give a beautiful springlike day. We joined a few others on the causeway looking in particular for raptors over the nearby woodland. Buzzards and Sparrowhawks were initially seen, followed by a couple of Red Kites. After about an hour Goshawks were heard calling, then two birds started to display over the trees, gradually coming closer, though disappeared after a short while. The nearby feeders on the causeway were a source of constant activity, mainly from numerous Blue Tits, though a single Marsh Tit was also present. Onto Penshurst for a second look at Hawfinch from the churchyard. About six birds were seen with one male viewed well through the scope. Goshawk, probably a female. Blue Tit Marsh Tit Hawfinch  Penshurst church