A good thing just got better

Park Wood near Challock has long been one of my favourite places, a peaceful wood with a the sound of buzzards overhead, marsh tits calling, goldcrests singing and occasionally a glimpse of a lesser spotted woodpecker. There's a variety of timber - coppiced woods to the left and yew trees on the right. Now the Woodland Trust has cut the middle area of recent growth, leaving a lovely sunny expanse of primroses, with orange tips and brimstones flitting over the piles of logs. There will surely be an increase in orchid numbers, and an improved habitat for Duke of Burgundy butterflies which were seen here last year. A line of gnarled hornbeam pollards marks an old ditch on the boundary of the wood in earlier times, giving protection from grazing deer. When I moved on to Denge Wood, I saw another line of these trees, not obviously on a ditch line but again probably used to define a boundary. The hornbeam leaf is similar to that of the beech, but the distinctive bark and catkins easily identify it. Anyway, the main reason for going to Denge Wood was to see if the continuing warm sunshine had brought out the Duke of Burgundies early. And hurrah it has. One, at least. Coincidentally (although on reflection the chances were quite high) I ran into the DoB survey team and the butterfly they found was considerate enough to stay still for long enough for all to get their photos. The group is a lovely bunch of people, who really know their subject and are good company (it helps that the sun's usually shining when they go out, I suppose). The surrounding song of willow warblers was an added bonus. Wild cherry trees have been left standing in an area of coppice, and look stunning in the bright sunlight. I noticed some wood ants climbing one of the trees...... .... so decided to follow them to the treetop to see what they were doing, and found that they were feeding on the flowers ..... ....[OK I didn't climb up, there was a small tree further on]. A beautiful day, with lots to see and pleasant company. It just got better and better. Especially when the ice-cream van was heard, playing its "Greensleeves" tune - the best sound in the world.

That Was The Week, That Was

A random miscellany of a varied week....... starting in Suffolk where a social event gave an opportunity to stroll through the lovely Dedham Vale, where a Nightingale sang loudly by Willy Lott's cottage, ignored by the many trippers but not by us. Sublime.

Less sublime was the sighting of two Egyptian Geese by the mud of one of the many estuaries, although a large flock of Black-tailed Godwits helped restore some sense of reality.
Back at Kingsdown, there was excitement when a Black Kite was seen flying in off the sea over the cliffs, and then being seen circling over a nearby wood in the evening,
.... and more distantly I assume this was the same bird in the same spot the next morning. The next day, the mis-named Greater Kent Birder saw and impressively photographed two Red-rumped Swallows.

Bluebells are carpeting the woodland floor,
..... but dotted amongst the millions are occasional spikes of Early Purple Orchids, many still in bud......
.... but some in full flower.
Also in the pink are some of the countless Wood Anemones,

and a clump of large Common Dog-Violets.

Hair~treak and ~nake~

Occasionally my daughter deigns to browse my blog, but as she hates snakes I have to set up a warning in the title.... just a secret code that nobody else will notice.........

So first, some pretty pics of an early Green Hairstreak butterfly that was found for me today by that master of bushcraft, Fred the Green Man of Bromley.
I'd hoped to see this butterfly as this spring weather has been so glorious, and Fred duly found this one flying uncertainly low across the downland sward. Presumably it had only emerged minutes before, and looked beautifully pristine.
Each time I see this species, I can't believe it's a native of Britain - it's like seeing a hummingbird!
Anyway, back to the snakes. Fred is an inveterate snake-tracker and was soon pointing out adders warming themselves in the early morning sun.
Each one was a male, as they emerge from hibernation earlier than the females, slough their skin and prepare for the rigours of conflict, courtship and mating.
Fred found 9 in all, mostly out in the open although one had settled himself under a piece of corrugated iron to poach quietly.
As the day warmed up (to an impressive 22 degrees) the snakes snuck off, as did I. We had counted five species of butterfly and I dismissed another fluttering around the hedgerow as a Large White - Fred is made of sterner stuff and tracked it, recognising the movement of a Brimstone, seeking buckthorn.
The evening drive home was enlivened by an Osprey flying over the M20 towards Eastwell Manor lake, and three Common Buzzards circling over Postling Wood. I'll recognise this one if I see it again, with its tell-tale missing feathers.

Balloons

"What the heck are they?"

"You wouldn't get me up in one of those"

Pimms anyone?

A chorus of warbler-song this morning turned an intended quick stroll along the cliff-top into a longer walk around the patch, as it was clear that there had been an overnight arrival. Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs called across Otty Bottom valley, and a tack - tack from deep in a thicket indicated an early Whitethroat. It's easy to identify Whitethroats - if you can see it, it's a Common one, and if you can't it's a Lesser version. Probably. As the track starts to rise up to Barrow Mount, the tree cover gives way to low hedges and fences, which should be a good habitat for Corn Buntings and Yellowhammers. The latter are seen here most years, but I can't recall seeing the former here before, so this one was welcome. It wasn't singing, so may have been a female. The problem with the winter arrival of Northern Long-tailed Tits is that you feel duty-bound to check each LTT just in case - knowing that you won't be lucky. A Goldcrest was seen foraging along the way, dropping down into the leaf litter, perhaps searching for nesting material. Except when I developed my sketchy photos, it turned out to be a Firecrest. Mental note - look with care first, then reach for the camera if you must! A quicker shot would have been useful as I reached Hope Point, however, as a Weasel skittered into a rabbithole, then turned back to check me out. This is the first I've seen in the area. Soon after, my first Black Redstart of the year was seen feeding from a compost heap in a garden - novel. There has been a reassuring number of sightings reported this year of Small Tortoiseshells and I was pleased to see (a tatty) one myself, as well as a fresh Comma. Bees were everywhere, and two unusual ones hugged Dandelion flowers when the sun faded and the cool wind chilled the clifftop. And finally, the obligatory close-ups of flowers (as an aide-memoire if for no other reason).... Sun Spurge

Red Deadnettle (or Cut-leaved Deadnettle?)

Field pansy

..... and it's clearly the start of the punting season..... Pimms anyone?

Calais Riviera

Considering that we live within sight of France, and that there is good bird- (and other nature-) watching over there, we constantly regret that we don't visit more often. Gradually, however, we are getting to know more of the sites with the help of local blogs like North France Birder and Skua-Over, and are getting better at scheduling our days.

A visit to Le Clipon in search of Kentish plovers and anything that might fly past was mainly fruitless, as all the plovers that we saw had orange (not black) legs and there was precious little on the sea, but there were enough waders and Sandwich terns to keep us occupied, with eiders and mergansers as a welcome surprise. Also (having a broad interest in my surroundings) I was able to enjoy a variety of plants in the harsh moon-like landscape.

The lowlying landes between Calais and Dunkirk are protected from the sea by the dunes, and are dotted with lakes that attract a wide range of birdlife. Part of the the area has been designated a nature reserve but as this surrounded by hunters' guns the birds' arrival and departure must be tricky. One shooting club has a lake with signs asking for a cease-fire between mid-March and mid-May to allow gulls (including Meds) to breed. For future reference, the site is marked with an "x" on the south-west corner of this map:

The Platier d'Oye reserve held spoonbill, avocets, pintail and other duck, as well as overflying buzzard, marsh harrier and swallows, and three hides provided shelter from the worsening weather.

The desperate search for crested larks on the roundabouts and verges near the old hoverport has become a tradition, but we have clearly been trying too hard, as this time we found five of them on Calais seafront leading to photo-opportunities in the kiddies' playground. Have we no shame?

A blog with more detail and much better pics can be found here.