Birding and other distractions

Another sunny day, with a definite feeling of spring. Lesser Celandine is starting to flower in warmer spots, and a hoverfly was taking advantage of the available nectar. Lesser Celandine and hoverfly Characteristic pit-chu calls alerted me to a nearby Marsh Tit.  A stunning male Bullfinch sang softly in the hedgerow but didn't show well enough for a picture. Marsh Tit A total of five Adders was found, two in DV, two in PV, and one in TF. An estimate of overall population size is a nice objective,  though no doubt very difficult to achieve, involving the identification of individual snakes. The best distinguishing feature is the shape of the zig-zag pattern on the upperparts, especially behind the head. Some individuals have a distinctive feature, such as the Adder in the third picture, with an inverted heart-shaped pattern to the rear of the head. However, others can be very similar, so an uphill task to identify individuals from one visit to another.  All Adders seen to...

A pleasantly sunny day, albeit with a cool breeze. Redshank were roosting on Crystal Pool as it was high tide on the river, and amongst them was a single Spotted Redshank. On arrival a Grey Wagtail had flown over, and later a Sparrowhawk. We walked up to the creek then onwards via Cliffe Fort to the Alpha Pool. Birds present included a winter plumage Slavonian Grebe and a pair of Red-breasted Merganser. Flamingo Pool was relatively quiet, though a small number of Goldeneye was notable. In contrast Radar Pool was full of birds. Gulls already occupied the breeding islands, of which a good proportion were Mediterranean Gulls, typically very vocal as they flew over.  Wildfowl included very good numbers of Wigeon, Pochard, Pintail and Tufted Duck. Amongst the latter were two female Scaup. A Black Swan with the Mute Swans was difficult to miss. Slavonian Grebe on Alpha Pool. Flamingo Pool Gulls and other birds on Radar Pool islands Adult Mediterranean Gull Black Swan

A spring-like morning, sunny with a temperature of 13 C by midday according to my phone.  Three male Brimstone were on the wing at the site, each a splash of yellow. At least three more were seen later on. I was interested to see if any Adders had emerged and was not disappointed with three being found in TF. The first two were close together, one basking in full view whilst another slowly moved through the grass though little more than a metre in total. It was interesting to note how the head end of the latter individual was brighter than the rest of the body. The third Adder was some distance away, and a relatively dark snake overall.  All Adders were left as found . A Peacock butterfly posed well, one of two seen during the visit. A number of Bullfinches were also heard though remained hidden. Brimstone The first Adder of the season Contrasting colouration of head v tail end of this Adder A relatively dark Adder Peacock Snowdrops

Following a report of a Glaucous Gull this morning I checked out the two basins at this site. There was no sign of the Glaucous, however a Mediterranean Gull was present, also a hybrid Mediterranean x Black-headed Gull. The latter was originally passed over as a 2nd winter Med, though its true identity was subsequently realised, as the bill size, limited area of dark hood, and amount of black in the primaries are wrong, and show the influence of BH Gull parentage.  The Med Gull was an adult on a rooftop by the car park, which, on the right leg, had a red colour ring with the white code PELH.  This colour and code seem to indicate it was rung in Poland, though a report will be sent in for precise details. Also seen was an adult Shag on basin 2, plus a Kingfisher which flew across to the south wall of the marina. Hybrid Mediterranean Gull x Black-headed Gull Hybrid gull with Black-headed Gulls Adult Med Gull Shag

After ignoring this local site for many years I've made several visits in the last two weeks. Today's visit was in generally overcast conditions with occasional light rain, though there were glimpses of the sun towards the end. The Firecrest near Wash Mills pond is still present though was somewhat frustrating to see. The bird is constantly active so challenging to photograph and todays efforts were either out of focus or the bird was facing the wrong direction. The Firecrest is usually on its own and generally silent, though on 16th January was heard singing. Other birds today included a Chiffchaff, a Siskin (flyover), two Blackcaps (heard only), a Great-spotted Woodpecker, approx. ten Long-tailed Tits and a number of Redwings. However, investigation of the site was severely hampered due to serious flooding on the lower paths, such that Wash Mills was impassable for example.

Continuing the run of good birds at Capstone a Bittern was reported by the ranger this morning, who saw it fly across the lake. There have been rumours of one for about a month, but never conclusively seen until today. The bird settled in tall trees on the south side of the lake, and was tolerant of people on the path beneath the trees.  No sign of any unusual ducks this morning, although Tufted are always nice to see.  There seem a fair number of rats at this park as they are not hard to find.

A short visit to Bredhurst as on the previous day.  A sunny afternoon, though soon turning cold as the sun went down. Marsh Tits were again seen in pylon valley, picked up readily on call. One bird showed well, another stayed higher up in the trees.  They were not associating with other tits, though mixed flicks of Great Tit and Blue Tit were also seen. No sign this afternoon of the Ravens seen the previous day. Raven, taken the previous day at long range.