Birding and other distractions

Weather conditions looked promising today with southerly winds, and at peak migration time for birds Dungeness seemed a logical place to visit. The day started with a seawatch from the beach. I had missed an earlier thunderstorm, and a small group of distant Pomarine Skuas. Common Scoter were passing in flocks up to about 50, with around 250 in total during the next 90 minutes.  However, other passage proved to be a bit light, and included one group of Brent Geese, several Kittiwake, and what were probably two Great Northern Diver, unfortunately too distant to be totally sure of the id. In the power station complex Alan spotted a male Black Redstart. After a break for coffee we headed to the Long Pits area, which held good numbers of Common Whitethroat and two Lesser Whitethroat. There was still little sign of sunshine at this stage, though a fairly pristine Painted Lady caught the eye in spite of the cool conditions. The west end of the ARC pit held a Glossy Ibis, and whilst there...

The visit started in the Old Ferry Road, where Cattle Egrets had been seen yesterday. A small bird flying along the hedgerow drew my attention, and pleased to find it was a male Common Redstart. The egrets were still in the field with cows, four birds in summer plumage. The reserve looks in great condition, with good water levels. No doubt the rains this week will have helped. Birds seen along the entrance track included female Marsh Harrier, several Yellow Wagtails, two Grey Partridge, and good numbers of Lapwing, some with small chicks.  The line of trees leading to the old school and brickfields looked promising, and proved relatively warm due to shelter from the wind. A number of Orange-tips were seen, plus the odd Peacock.  Along the tree-line two different Willow Warblers were singing, though the birds proved difficult to see. Nearer to the old school a Wood Warbler was then heard from the oaks, and the bird was watched intermittently for the next 45 minutes, singin...

The high winds of the previous two days had abated this morning, and with sunny periods it was certainly warmer . At DE a Nightingale was in full song, though typically was not easy to see. Ten Adders were found in total today, half of these  at DE. A female initially seen alone at this site was soon joined by a male, who then guarded his mate for the best part of an hour that I observed them. The contrast in colouration between the pair was very marked. At one point another male approached the pair from the rear, and I expected an interesting confrontation. However, after a brief skirmish between the two males the visitor moved off, though continued to lay no more than a metre away from the pair, who seemed to tolerate his presence. Other Adders at DE were an apparently unpaired female, and another male, with nearby his cast skin. At CL there were at least four Adders, including the melanistic individual that I have encountered  before. I was lucky enough to witness the famou...

A sunny morning and setting off from home I heard a commotion from across the road of a bird in distress. It wasn't too surprising to find that it was an unfortunate Starling in the clutches of a female Sparrowhawk. I watched the struggle from inside the car, though the Sparrowhawk appeared somewhat unconcerned as other people walked past on the pavement. It started to pluck the Starling there and then, so I continued on my way. At the park I found four male Adders at BW, one of them a good size individual in full view. Nearby a brightly marked male surprised me when it took a short cut across the corner of the grassy field, instead of keeping close to cover which I normally expect with Adders. Turning left along the coastal path another male Adder plus a female were found several hundred metres away in a new spot noted this year. Female Sparrowhawk with prey  

Very sunny, though still with a cool wind. Despite the wet winter the ground is now dry underfoot due to the absence of rain this month.  On downland cowslips are now in bloom, while in wooded areas the wood anemone are in full flower. Good evidence this morning that Adders have sloughed, with two cast skins being found in TF. A few metres from one of the skins a male Adder was found, now looking very smart albeit fairly well hidden amongst vegetation. The only other adult was found in PV, seemingly yet to slough. It was encouraging to find juvenile Adders today, two in PV and another two in TF, probably all born last summer. One of those in PV was laying up next to a Slow-worm, the other juvenile there being less than a metre away. Similarly, both juveniles in TF were together, under tin in this case. Five Slow-worms were found in total, one in PV, three in DV, and one in TF. Probably all males. The piping call from Bullfinch continues to be heard from bushes along the top of TF, ...

A sunny morning, becoming cloudier after midday.  The blackthorn blossom looked superb. Some new birds in the area included 1-2 Willow Warbler, singing well and feeding in the blackthorn. Nearby a Common Whitethroat was in song, with a Swallow also seen. Chiffchaff and Blackcap are present in suitable habitat throughout the area, though the latter were more often heard than seen. Brent Geese were just offshore; in the Medway this species can linger until May. Conditions were ideal to find Adders, a total of seven being seen, starting in DE with three  males.  The first there had  obvious cloudy eyes, indicating the imminent skin shed. In comparison a male near BW looked very bright, having recently sloughed. In its new skin this is the first seen  like this this year. Further along the path were two females, also the first for the year. Surprisingly only a single Adder was seen at CL, albeit a melanistic individual. A small number of butterflies were active, mos...