A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE WEDNESDAY 4TH MAY 2011

Today, I was pleased to have the company of another blogger with me at New Hythe, Marianne Taylor, who is the author of an excellent blog entitled The Wild Side. I recommend that you click the link and pay a visit, you won't be disappointed.

As usual the morning started from Brooklands car park and as usual the first part of the walk was blighted by the sight, sound and smell of the paper mill. Are we heading for a paperless society? I hope so! Brookland lake held no surprises today, being almost deserted save a few Sand Martins and some higher level Swifts. Around the margins though, Reed Warblers were chuntering away and even allowing some tantalising sightings through the reed stems. Common Whitethroats also cheerfully announced their presence, from the tops of the blossom laden Hawthorns, as they did all across the site. The tide was very low and I hoped to show off some of the Medway's elusive waders, but of course they're not called elusive for nothing and today they justified their reputation. With a distinct lack of North Downs Buzzards, a cool morning breeze and only one bucket seat we moved on to the sunken marsh where I thought that things could only improve. Along the way the drone of the mill receded and was replaced by the calls of Cetti's Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, a rather strange sounding Cuckoo, hiccups maybe, which was also seen on it's favourite wire across the marsh and the soft contact calls of a couple of Bullfinches. Then as we neared Hoopoe corner we heard the soft, intermittent purr of a Turtle Dove, my first of the year, and Marianne's too I believe. Although we could pinpoint it's location, it remained tantalisingly out of sight, deep in the scrub. I'll be back soon to hopefully see it and then add it to my NH year list. The rest of the marsh and the river turned up at least six Shelducks and lots of Herons who seemed to be busy teaching their somewhat dumb looking offspring what the sharp thing on the front of their face was for, i.e. catching fish.

Nightingales were on Marianne's wish list and they didn't disappoint with several heard around the site and two particular individuals who treated us to a stereophonic rendition of their amazing musical phrasing from both sides of the causeway below the raptor viewpoint. Here we also found one of many Hairy Hawkers, pictured above, urged onto the wing by the now warming sunshine.

More Nightingales sang across the east scrub and at the Brook House entrance track, where the Terrapin was seen basking in it's usual spot in the finger lake. We were disappointed that we couldn't get any photos of the Nightingales, a briefest glimpse was all we were spared, but I had higher hopes of a posing Water Vole and with this in mind we proceded to the usual ditch alongside the west scrub. Sure enough, we soon saw one swim from bank to bank, but it was too quick for Mariannne's camera. Luckily a second chance was had further downstream and hopefully the results will be seen on The Wild Side. No pressure then Marianne! While we were Vole watching Marianne spotted a Hobby coming over quite low from Johnson's Lake, by the time I saw it, it had gained height and was over the east scrub. This turned out to be one of four seen throughout the day and is tick number 98 for the NH year.

One of the thirteen species of butterfly seen was the Small Copper above, spotted by Marianne on the way back across the scrub. The other species seen were as follows; Grizzled Skipper (5), the most i've ever seen at New Hythe, Brimstone, Green-veined White, Orange Tip, Comma, Peacock, Red Admiral, Green Hairstreak, Holly Blue, Brown Argus, Speckled Wood and Small White.

Apart from the Hairy Hawkers, the only other dragon species seen was this superb Four Spotted Chaser, I saw a couple of these down here last year but not very many so this was a really nice surprise find in the west scrub. Below is one of the five, fresh looking Grizzled Skippers, all found as we returned across the east scrub and below that is the Brown Argus, often mistaken with Common Blue, as we nearly did first of all.

The last leg of the walk took us down the railway path where we spotted this Holly Blue butterfly (below) laying her eggs in neither Holly or Ivy, but if it works for her, why not. Note the drooping antennae, i've noticed this before with egg laying butterflies, I don't know if it has any relevance. If you know what it's about let me know, if you don't, you heard it here first.

The handsome red moth below was seen clambering through the undergrowth as we approached the raptor viewpoint, I've never seen one before but Marianne told me it 's a Ruby Tiger. Another new species for me at New Hythe. The last surprise of the day was at the raptor mound, where a flock of Black Headed Gulls were swirling around seemingly catching insects on the wing. The surprise was that among them was a lovely Mediterranean Gull. After two years without seeing one this was my third sighting this year. What a great way to end a very enjoyable day. Thanks for your good company, excellent spotting and your impressive knowledge Marianne.

A STREAK, A SKIPPER, AND A BRIMSTONE MYSTERY

After my visit to the Downs with Greenie in The Wild last week, Carol decided that she too, would like to see an Adder in the wild. So today, with talk of sun and temperatures nudging 20 degrees, surely a recipe for success, we headed for the hills. I wasn't totally surprised to see Greenie's car parked on the roadside verge when we arrived at 09.45. But I was surprised when a quick squint through the bins revealed not just Greenie, but also Ken Browne, alias 'Focusing on Nature'. This was looking like a bloggers convention. A quick call to Ken revealed the surprising news that they hadn't, at that time, found any snakes. But never mind, the morning was still young.

Carol and I had some early success with a single Grass snake, which spotted us at the same time and retreated unhurriedly to the safety of the undergrowth. But from then on, for whatever reason, the snakes didn't want to be seen. We saw a couple of Common Lizards but even they were few and far between. Thankfully, there were plenty of Slow Worms to provide at least some reptilian interest. And of course when our crawling and slithering friends don't play ball, we can always turn to our flying friends. Like the Common Whitethroat pictured at the top of the post.

Just a single Green Hairstreak was seen today, pictured above. This is the smallest of the Hairstreaks and is the first to appear in Spring after overwintering as a chrysalis. At rest, with wings always closed, it's green coloration looks stunning, but in flight they appear drab due to the brown upperwings of both the male and the female. Maybe it was the cool breeze that kept the numbers down, but if it was, it certainly didn't trouble the Brimstones. Like last week, they were plentiful, bright, sulphur yellow males rode the breeze along the hedgerows with presumably just one thing on their minds. Females. Like the one pictured below, who had just one thing on her mind as well, and after some searching, eventually found it. Buckthorn. Having found it, she laid her eggs on it. You can almost see the smile on her face in the second shot. Left click it to see what I mean.

Like Green Hairstreaks, Brimstones never settle with their wings open and keep them closed over their back when they are feeding. The one below is nectaring on what I think are a species of Forget-Me-Not and I really like the way the sun is shining through it's wings and outlining the shape of the abdomen and the overlap of the fore and hindwing.

I followed what I thought was a small day flying moth which eventually landed on the ground for long enough to see that it was actually a Grizzled Skipper. This is the smallest and the earliest of the Skippers and it's seemingly erratic flight is incredibly difficult to follow. I believe Wild Strawberry is one of the caterpillars main food sources and there's lots of it on the Downs so there were probably more around, but like I said, they're not easy to spot.

The last picture is a bit of a mystery. We noticed a Brimstone on the ground in front of us and realised that it was dead. I went to pick it up and saw that there were actually three of them, all together, all in pristine condition, and all dead. Any ideas anyone?

So no Adders for me and Carol today, but a very enjoyable morning anyway and we'll be back in the not too distant future. I'm looking forward to reading how Ken and Greenie's day went, hopefully they did better on the reptile front than me.

SNAKES ALIVE! MONDAY 11TH APRIL 2011

I met Greenie of Greenie in the wild fame today for a walk around the North Downs looking for reptiles, and in particular, Adders. He told me that we would almost certainly find some, and as usual he wasn't speaking with a forked tongue! The picture above shows two of the seven that we found during our wanderings. I think i'm right in saying that the female is in the front and the male, with the piercing blue eyes, which means he'll soon be sloughing his skin, is at the top. You wouldn't want to be a small mammal and see him coming towards you, would you. Left click to see what I mean!

Talking of sloughing skin, here's one that Greenie spotted in the undergrowth further along. This is a complete Adder skin and the tail end was still wrapped around a piece of vegetation which allowed the snake to slip out, so to speak.

Common Lizards like the one pictured above were, as their name suggests, in abundance. Some basking on pieces of wood and many more along the edges of the paths or anywhere that was catching the sun. This one has flattened himself to present as much of his body to the rays as possible. These would and probably do, make a nice meal for the local Kestrels, two of which we saw, but today they were more interested in displaying and calling to each other overhead.

Butterflies were well represented and I saw my first Speckled Wood of the year. It's pictured above, but the shot was taken from below, if you get my drift. And the one below was pictured from above, confused, so am I.

Without doubt the most prolific butterfly species of the day was the Brimstone. They were everywhere, mostly females but with the quite a few males thrown in the mix. Greenie told me that the females were looking for Buckthorn to lay their eggs on. We watched and waited for a female to land on a small piece with newly emerging leaves and I managed to get the picture below of her actually laying a single egg on the leaf bud. This is a first for me and I must say, I was thrilled to see, at first hand, the beginning of the next generation of this super butterfly.

The picture below is of a Buckthorn leaf bud with a Brimstone butterfly egg, the small white grain of rice to the right, laid a few seconds earlier. I've never seen one before and i'm very grateful to Greenie for showing me all this super stuff. In case you're wondering, the pink thing in the background is Greenie's hand, any palm readers out there?

Soon after we arrived Greenie said that we might possibly get a Green Hairstreak today, given the location and conditions. I've only ever seen a couple, including one at New Hythe last year. Well we saw seven in all! You just run out of superlatives with some of this stuff. I'll just say they're fantastic, there, i've run out! They flutter past you, a small dull looking thing, more like a day flying moth or something. Then they land. Then you see their true colour. Enough said.

And don't you just love their stripy socks and matching antenna.

We saw lots of Slow Worms, always a favourite of mine. They have friendly faces, well fairly friendly. This one was a bruiser, the picture doesn't do it justice. It's a male I think and although you can't see from the picture, it has some quite nice blueish spots along it's back.

Another first butterfly of the year was the Grizzled Skipper pictured above. It was the only one we found but I'm sure there were more. The trouble is they are so small and they fly so erratically, that they are easily overlooked. Plus they look to me more like moths on the wing as well. Other butterflies seen included Orange Tips and a few Peacocks.

I was amazed at how many different species of Bees we saw. The one above was seen quite regularly but i'm by no means sure what it is. Another unidentified small Bee had a red tail and we watched for ages as it built a nest from small lengths of dry grass which it ferried in like a helicopter. Greenie managed to get a shot of it in action I think, check out his blog to see if it came out and if he managed to ID it, unlike me.

The day wouldn't have been complete without a Grass snake or two and the two pictured together below fitted the bill. They were entwined, rather intimately, at the base of a wood pile. I'm not exactly sure which is which but I think the male is the one whose head is in the shot. They slipped lazily away after a while, seemingly unabashed at being caught in a romantic embrace. Or maybe i'm just imagining it.

As we walked back to the cars we heard the unmistakeable mewing of a Buzzard. We looked up into the bright blue sky and watched as no less than four drifted over together. There were a couple of half hearted talon locks before they gained height and were lost to sight. That would have been a great way to end the day, but soon after it was probably surpassed by the appearance in the roadside verge of a male Adder in superb black and white breeding plumage, not sure what the term is, but he looked magnificent. Unfortunately we were still in Buzzard mode and didn't react fast enough to get a picture.

This has by no means been an exhaustive account of a great day but hopefully you get the drift.

Thanks Greenie, looking forward to the next one!

Monday 10th & Tuesday 11th May

Yesterday morning I did the first count on my Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) square in Hodsoll St Meopham, ably assisted by Alan Roman. We started at 06.15 in the morning although to my mind that's still classified as night time, it was breezy and very chilly with occasional light drizzle. To be honest there wasn't a great deal to record in some transect sections but I think the weather may have played a part in that, so nothing particularly exciting found but at least the information gathered will contribute to the overall picture of breeding bird populations in the UK so it's all in a good cause.. I just hope that the second visit in June will be a bit warmer.

ADELA REAUMURELLA (GREEN LONGHORN)

From Meopham we went straight down to New Hythe to try to find the Greenshank seen earlier by myself and Alan Woodcock and also the Grey Plover found further upstream the evening before by Steve Nunn. I'm afraid to say that neither bird graced our vision yesterday. We amused ourselves for a while looking for Red Rumped Swallows among the abundance of Hirundines over Brooklands lake.These were brought down by the overcast conditions that keep the fly hatches and wind blown insects which are their food source, low over the water. Unfortunately we didn't find one but we did find a couple of Reed Warblers and a Linnet in the Sunken Marsh and a brief glimpse of a Cuckoo as it flew over the river.

At the southern end of Abbey Mead I noticed a lot of the flies pictured above on and around the undergrowth but have been unable to ID them. I wouldn't mind betting 'longhorn' comes into the name somewhere, if anyone can help i'd appreciate it. At the railway line Alan headed back to the car park but I continued on over the East Scrub accompanied by the now familiar musical serenade from the assorted Warblers who wouldn't be beaten by the grinding wind and slate grey skies which continue to outstay their welcome.

SWALLOW

I found this small butterfly in a more sheltered spot and I believe it may be a Grizzled Skipper. I've never seen one previously so I hope i'm right, it also appeared to have a damaged wing unless it was holding it up as a wind brace!

Further along I met Den and Doreen and between us we found a couple of Sparrowhawks over the country park a Kingfisher flying straight and true just above the surface of Millstream lake and a Garden Warbler at the Brook House entrance. The refugia on the scrub provided warmth and shelter to a couple of Slow Worms and a nice fat Common Lizard. Annoyingly I managed to lose the lens cap for my camera somewhere along the path back near the paper mill and despite retracing our footsteps I was unable to find it.

Today Carol and I headed off to Dungeness despite the forecast of cold winds, cloudy and possible drizzle. I don't think it will be too bad were my famous last words. I'm not going to bang on about it again. Suffice to say it was bloody freezing and blowing a gale!

Kestrel, Marsh Harrier, Swift and Pied Wagtail were some of the species who turned out in the adverse conditions to welcome us along the track. Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Reed Buntings and Sedge Warblers still doing their little display flights above the tangled undergrowth featured as we made our way down to Christmas Dell hide. And opposite here was a Little Egret and a Wood Sandpiper, a first for me but I wish it had been closer for a better look. Further on and a lone female Wheatear flitted around low amongst the scrub showing off her white rump unashamedly. Amid much loud calling two Whimbrel chased each other over the flooded meadow and behind us two Red-Legged Partridge ran around nervously among the gorse. And so to Denge Marsh hide where we had lunch and eagerly awaited the non arrival of a Spoonbill which had been seen in the area earlier.

SWALLOW

Again the entertainment featured Hirundines over the pit. The two snaps above were the best I could manage in the poor light. These were joined later by a couple of Common Terns, who provided the calm elegance among the feeding frenzy of the Swallows, Swifts and House Martins, daintily dipping into the water to catch a small fish with supreme agility.

COMMON TERN

On the way back to the visitor centre I had a call from Dennis to say that he and Doreen had found my lens cap down at New Hythe. Excellent news, hope they're not expecting a reward though........................