Tuesday 30 April 2013

Tuesday 30th. April 2013

Since reading that Alan / Snodland and Surrounding Area , posted that he had 24 singing male Nightingales at New Hythe , and with the leaves coming out very quickly on the trees , I made another visit to the site this morning , and I was not disappointed . I didn't manage the 24 that Alan did , but must have had half that number . If I hadn't seen a single male , just listening to that song

was magic . I took loads of shots that I still have to look through , but am just posting a couple . Mixed in with the Nightingale song were Blackcap , Chiffchaff , Common Whitethroat , Willow Warbler and Reed Warbler , of which I managed a couple of shots on the far side of the Millstream ,
just before it dived back into the Brambles . A couple of birders had Sedge Warbler in the same area , but I didn't see / hear it . As the sun lifted the temperature , and the birdsong , it really did feel like Spring at last .
About midday , I left the birds and headed off to the Downs , with butterflies and reptiles on my list .
The sun also helped the butterfly count with 13 Peacock ,
12 Brimstone , mostly males like this one , but one egg laying female also ,
3 Comma , together with singletons of Red Admiral , Large and Small White , which managed to avoid the viewfinder , and 7 Orange Tip , all males , charging around searching for mates .
as one passed by , a cloud covered the sun for a short time , and it immediately settled , fearing rain .
It wasn't for long though , and with the first rays of sunshine returning , he was ready to carry on the
search . Reptile numbers for some species were good too , with 33 Slow Worms recorded , two of
that number being this pair snugged up together . The male is on the left with the blue spots . 3 Grass
Snakes , 2 adults and a juvenile . One adult was the more normal yellow collared type , the second
was the more orangy collared type . Just two Adders were recorded , and unfortunately one , a sub. adult female was dead . It looked as if she had been crushed , possibly by an animal that had been
grazing on site , a real shame . No worries about the male though , he was off and running as the
shutter went . Whilst trying to photograph the Orange Tip , a Common Lizard scuttled right up close ,
and I managed to cup it in my hands and get some real close ups . And finally , some colour from the afternoon visit ,
Sweet Violets - Viola odorata ,
Cowslips - Primula veris ,
and it looks like a good year for Wild Strawberry - Fragaria vesca .

6 comments:

Marc Heath said...

Lovely shots Greenie and an Orange Tip underwing shot, priceless for the camera.

Spock said...

Hi Greenie, upperside orange tip shots are hard to get, not quite flat winged but not far off. We had our first orange tip and Speckled Wood today at Hutchinsons Bank. still no Green Hairstreak or the two skippers for tomorrows butterfly walk.

Warren Baker said...

Well done Greenie,
Another action packed post, loads to admire, and not a hint of an insult to me :-)

alan woodcock said...

Hi,pleased you managed to see at least one Nightingale well.

John of The Chid said...

Excellent Lizard... shame about the Adder...

A bit more bad news.... the LTT nest at Chid has been prodated

- John

ShySongbird said...

Very well done on the Nightingales Greenie and I love the photo of the one singing...just as it should be. Lovely to see all the butterflies and flowers too. It is so good to see lots of colour after the long, drab winter. The photo of the Common Lizard is superb! I do like lizards...which is a pity really as I never get to find any myself...!