Chambers Farm Wood....

An all day effort at Chambers today with young Mr Royle,resulted in my attempt to get anywhere near a Grass Snake failing miserably,but we enjoyed cracking views of them all the same.These along with their venomous cousins are stunning reptiles and today we managed a total of 6 individuals all in the same small copse,cracking stuff!!.Other sightings of the reptilian and amphibian nature included my first Common Frog and Common Toad sightings of the year at the now overgrown Brickpit Pond,with a few individuals of each species now present.Birdwise it was fairly quiet,but i did manage nice views of my first Chiffchaff of the year,watched flycatching and singing his little head off in the spring sunshine along the edge of Ivy Wood,a sure sign of things to come.Also seen was a handfull of Siskin,4 Common Buzzard,a single Woodcock and 3 drumming Great spotted Woodies.On the insect front it was also pretty quiet,with me seeing my first White-tailed and Buff-tailed Bumblebee's of the year and a few Seven-spot Ladybirds and we managed to find two clusters of Vapourer Moth eggs,but no butterflies!.A nice wander around this great woodland.

Pale Common Buzz......

A wander around the local patch at Worlaby this afternoon revealed the stunning pale morph Common Buzzard was still present and he was watched displaying over a small copse down by the river Ancholme,giving fantastic views down to 50 metres range,this bird is something special and has to be seen to be appreciated!.This form is not very common in the UK at all and tends to be more frequently encountered in Scandinavia.After watching this beautiful Buteo,i then enjoyed more views of the 5 Whooper Swans,only a stone's throw away from the where the Buzzard had been performing.They where still residing in the same field with the resident Mute Swan herd and it was great to hear them calling today and also watched in flight when a moron on a trials bike flushed them,they then flew into the wet pasture out of the way and i watched them as they all bathed and preened giving lovely views!.Not too far away along the soak drain and car park area,the 2 Short-eared Owls where watched hunting for voles,also giving great views and i thought to myself that it would be great if a pair stopped to breed,now that would be special!.Other notable sightings included a pair of Marsh Harrier(3rd cal yr. male and ad. female),1 Barn Owl,42 Corn Bunting and 8 more Common Buzzard.An enjoyable few hours around the patch in the milder conditions.

Large-yellow Underwing...

After being out for Mothering Sunday,we arrived back home and Trace managed to find a super Large-yellow Underwing larva in the front garden getting some unwanted attention from some Black Ants,so i quickly saved it and took the above shots of this distinctive species of Caterpillar.It is one of our most common species of Moth and it's flight season extends from June to October.The larva is found usually in areas of leaf litter like ours and is in the larval stage from August to early Spring when it then pupates underground.

Webs Count etc..

It was that part of the month again today where i take part in the national webs count and i covered my two sections between New Holland and Barrow Haven and New Holland and Goxhill Haven.The highlight between New Holland and Barrow Haven were 3 cracking adult Whooper Swan on Fairfield Pit,which showed brilliantly calling and displaying to each other until a local male Mute Swan took a disliking to them and chased them off and they flew onto the humber,superb birds and a personal favourite!.The best birds between New Holland and Goxhill included a 1st winter female Scaup on the humber with the diving duck flock,which also contained 128 Goldeneye and 49 Tufted Duck,2 Pink-footed Geese on a riverside pasture and an adult female Marsh Harrier which flew west.I also walked the river bank between Goxhill Haven and East Halton Skitter enjoying superb views of a lovely Barn Owl hunting the saltmarsh,a pair of Marsh Harrier watched nest building and displaying and my first Grey Wagtail's of the year,with 2 flying west up river.A nice day out on the old stomping ground!!.

Brilliant Buteo's....

A visit to the local patch this afternoon for 4 hours saw me enjoying some great views of this cracking species(My favourite bird) and i saw at least 14 individuals with several pairs on their territories and some fantastic aerobatics from the male birds as they displayed with that distinctive rollercoasting,skydancing display flight,impressive stuff for a bird which most people now overlook as common.Other raptors seen today included a couple of Marsh Harriers,an adult female at the nest site and the second a 3rd calendar year male over the eastern fields and at least 4 Kestrel,but no Peregrine,Merlin or Hen Harriers today.Other birds from previous visits included the 5 Whooper Swan towards the Ancholme,1 Barn Owl in the same area and my first multiple sighting of the year of Short-eared Owl,with 2 showing very well along the soak drain.Mammal sightings comprised of 3 Buck Roe Deer,18 Brown Hare and a single Weasel.An enjoyable visit again to this great site!.

Vipera berus...

A visit to Laughton today to look for Adder's didn't disappoint,with me seeing at least 10 individual males and getting some decent images of this stunning reptile along with a few other admirers.It was amazing to think when i arrived at 07.00 it was -6 and everything was covered in frost,but by 09.00,the first snakes where showing and the temperature had risen to at least 5 degrees centigrade,a massive 11 degrees differance.Other interesting sightings here included at least 1 singing male Woodlark,the beautiful melancholy song being heard above the forest clearing,a couple of Crossbill,Green Woodie and some displaying Common Buzzards,it certainly is starting to feel like Spring!.

 After being at Laughton,i travelled to the local patch to see what was about and managed to see quite a few good birds with the highlights being a juv. male Peregrine(Railway/river area),3rd cal yr. male Hen Harrier(Eastern fields),5 Whooper Swan(Railway crossing area),2 Little Egret(Soak drain),70 Corn Bunting(Eastern fields),1 Short-eared and 2 Barn Owl's(Soak drain/railway areas) and at least 16 Common Buzzard.A great day out!!.