Symonds Yat

Reading the notice board at the entrance to the Miner's Rest Nature Reserve, I  noticed that they described the lower field as full of cowslips and orchids. Wandering down to it, I was surprised to see that this was indeed an accurate description. What a beautiful sight on a Spring morning, the almost red of the orchids contrasting sharply with the nodding yellow flowers of the cowslips. It has been an extraordinary year for the cowslips and in some places, fields and roadsides are absolutely covered with them.
Looking up from the flowers, I just caught sight of the behinds of half a dozen fallow deer retreating into the woods.
Yesterday, down by the river, I watched a pair of blackcaps in clear view and then later a garden warbler. At this time of year, I am accustomed to only hearing these birds sing from deep within foliage and it is a real pleasure to get a clear sight of them in the open.
My dog went chasing something through the woods and I managed to glimpse a dark slim creature running ahead of him. This was in the same area where I have several times now seen  a creature which I cannot fully account for. Until I make a positive and definite identification, I shall not be making any claims, but my suspicion is that this is a colony of pine martens living in an area where they are not meant to exist. The area is ideal for them, with mixed woods and lots of small caves and caverns and without too much disturbance. One day I shall see one clearly for more than a couple of seconds, and, having seen martens before in Scotland, I shall know exactly what I have seen.

Nightingale

Yesterday took the dog for a walk by the lakes. Doubly intoxicated by the scent from May blossom whilst listening to the song of a nightingale.
Also in song were blackcaps and whitethroats though none as yet in the same numbers as for the last two years.
Some very small baby rabbits were about with the typical white stripe down the forehead which is a common mutation at this site.

Chiffchaff

The beautiful spring weather continues, though rain is forecast for the day after tomorrow.
I sat this morning on the slopes of North Downs and watched a female chiffchaff tugging at a piece of grass which it then flew off with to the nearby bushes. I knew that this was a female as the male was declaiming his territory near the top of one of the bushes.
I have also seen redpolls nest building, so the breeding season appears now to be in full swing.

Does not make a summer

Saw my first swallow on Thursday. It was flying over the rape feels below the North Downs.
The new lake has coot, canada geese and several pairs of mallard. But, probably a passing migrant, a curlew sandpiper.
Some interest being shown in the new nest boxes in Wedgewood, but also some signs of squirrel damage on one of them.

Adder

Such was the warmth of the day yesterday, that traversing one of the footpaths that follows the contour line along the face of the North Downs ridge, I came across an adder basking in the sun.
Fortunately Dylan, my dog, ran straight past it. Momentarily, I mistook it for a stick, which would have given the dog a chase down the slope. The unmistakable zigzag pattern soon alerted me. It lay there coiled for a few moments then slithered quickly down the hill side. About sixteen inches in length, this was a creature of great beauty; a delight to see and a first for me on these downland slopes.
Great tits are carrying nesting material into the box beside the conservatory, whilst the nestling robins in the garden will be fledging in a few days.

Absent Friends

With all the excitement around the new spring arrivals, it is sometimes easy to forget about the birds you are no longer seeing or hearing. The obvious absentees are the winter migrants and it is now some weeks since I last saw a redwing or fieldfare. More surprising is the disappearance of bullfinches. Just a couple of weeks ago, I would not have bothered to comment on their appearance, being a daily matter in all of my usual haunts. This morning, whilst listening to chiffchaffs and blackcaps, it suddenly occurred to me that I had for some time, neither seen nor heard the plaintive piping of a bullfinch. Perhaps it is now that they descend upon the orchards. These are nearby but not within the scope of my daily wanderings. I shall have to go and see.
Whilst walking the dog in the dark last night I heard a curious murmuring sound coming from overhead, it clearly came from some bird or birds, most likely a migrating species, but what they were remains a mystery.