We got the blues

I can't believe that, after such a bad winter, the blues have survived!
First a couple of Common Blues at Postling at lunchtime (no camera, so no undignified leaping and crouching), then two male and one female Adonis Blues at the north end of the Lydden reserve in the evening.
Hopefully when I return at midday tomorrow there will be more.
Also on the agenda for the weekend is a bit more woodwalking, and the promise of more plants like Solomon's Seal seen today near Shepherdswell.
And maybe more bugs to try to identify. This may be Cardinal Beetle pyrochroa serraticornis.

The Seeker

I've looked under trees
I've looked under hedgerows
I've tried to find the plant
That's called the Bird's Nest Orchid

They call me The Seeker
I've been searching low and high
I won't get to get what I'm after
'Cos it's far too dry

I asked the KWT
I asked Plantlife
I asked Fred the Greenie
But he couldn't help me either

They call me The Seeker
I've been searching low and high
I finally found what I'm after
Near the "High and Dry"

May Day!

Good morning lords and ladies it is the first of May,

We hope you'll view our garland it is so bright and gay,
For it is the first of May, oh it is the first of May,
Remember lords and ladies it is the first of May.

A lovely morning on the first of May, spent walking around Grove and Stodmarsh to the constant sound of birdsong - warblers, turtle doves, cuckoos and nightingales.

Wood sandpipers showed well on the watermeadows, and 14 greenshanks were scattered by a swooping peregrine. Common terns brightened up the main lake, and at least six marsh harriers cruised around, but the stars of the day were the hobbies taking dragonflies from the wind, up to nine in view at a time although some reported 20 or so.

A superb morning, and overall a credit to the warden and his helpers in maintaining such a variety of habitats.

A quick trip to East Blean Wood suggested that it's still too early for heath fritillaries, but this broad bodied chaser was some consolation; back in Kingsdown the first small blue of the year was seen braving the cool breeze.

And now you've seen our garland we must be on our way,
So remember lords and ladies it is the first of May,
For it is the first of May, oh it is the first of May,
Remember lords and ladies it is the first of May.

Bog-wading

In my college days in wet Wales, our occasional games of football and rugby were, for obvious reasons, called "bog-wading". Today I pulled on my wellies (only one of which leaks) and waded around some of the few wet areas of mid-Kent.

This is not my normal habitat, and I know little of the flora of wetlands, so Gibbins Brook near Sellindge is an interesting place, with plenty of species I'd not see before.
Bogbean is a lovely flower, each one a hairy cross contrasting with the smooth unopened buds above.
A Small Copper kindly landed on one flower.
This is, I believe, Marsh Valerian, a much smaller, subtler plant than its red namesake.

Large Red Damselflies were very active, except when being otherwise active, blending in with the similar colours of the pond vegetation.
This may be Bog Stitchwort (it's great reading the guesses of a novice -available for guided walks at the usual rates)

Hothfeld Heathlands have blossomed with Cottongrass, and were otherwise notable for much larger patches of Lousewort than in recent years.
A Red Poplar Beetle was seen, as was an early Brown Argus.
A lovely couple of visits, but the third was chastening - last year the Water-Violets at Ashford Warren was stunning but this year there were only a dozen flowering stems - perhaps early in the season, but the omens are not good.
It was, however, good to see our trusty Little Owl in the usual place on the dead stump near Northbourne.

Nothing about Kingsdown today, but I should report a very successful village street party last night, with great bands and a marvellous atmousphere. The pub was almost drunk dry, I hear.

The story of the weekend

The hot inland air was choked with pollen, without the relief of any rain. The wind cooled the coast, however, to a pleasant temperature although the sun shone throughout.
Fifteen spikes of Early Spider Orchid have appeared on the rifle range, although none yet near to the road. These numbers are nothing compared with Samphire Hoe or Langdon cliffs, but I'm proud of them.
Green-winged Orchids are up at Sandwich Bay, looking sumptuous in the sunshine.
A tiny white Storksbill creeps over the sandy meadow.
These flies seemed to be everywhere, while Orange Tip butterflies have been joined on the wing by Small Whites and Green-veined Whites, making identification at a distance a bit tricky..... a good opportunity to compare their flight movements.
Much time was devoted to sitting in the garden, waiting for the Green Hairstreak to reappear, but when on the few occasions that it did, it didn't rest.
No early blues were seen (apart from Holly and they don't count) but a Dingy Skipper showed at Lydden.
Plenty of raptors were on the wing - ringtail over Worth and Common Buzzards galore, including this individual with a damaged tail giving an impression of a fork.

It ain't 'alf 'ot

The morning broke according to the forecast, warm and sunny, so I put on my child-molester shorts (think Don Estelle), hat on, roof down and Beach Boys on the stereo and drove off in the warmth.

The oil seed rape pollen swirled around but I didn't care - four days of sunny holidays ahead.

As it turned out, my carefully-laid plans didn't quite work out...... wherever I went, I failed to find what I was looking for, but found something else in compensation:

I walked around the tinder-dry Perry Wood, looking for early Bird's-Nest Orchids......
..... but found much else of interest including a small patch of Woodruff, which is unusual in these parts.
I paid another visit to Park Wood, to see if any Duke of Burgundies had appeared.......
.... but they hadn't, but a lay down on the grass brought me closer to another world, of Pill Millipedes......
..... and shield bugs.......
..... and a ladybird that might not be a ladybird.
Orange tip butterflies were everywhere.
I called in at Campbells garage to check if Small Blues had emerged, but although their food plant, Kidney Vetch, is starting to flower.....
... there were none to be seen, as a cooling breeze was coming in off the sea. Only one butterfly flew past - a worn Painted Lady.

So I returned home to spend some time in the garden, where a green spider was spinning a web (a Cucumber Green Spider?)........
...... a couple of Orange Tips, a Holly Blue, and what the..........?
Up in the trees, a small green butterfly fluttered........ a Green Hairstreak. This warm weather is really benefiting the early spring bugs.

Blinking heck!

And on a long weekend too! What did we do to deserve this? Hope you can enjoy it.