Dipped out...but not disappointed.

"Yes - she saw an otter".  "Oh yes - the bittern tapped me on the shoulder and asked for a light".  That is how the day felt - I dipped out on the stars of the show, but still it was a great day in the sunshine anyway.

Three common terns and the tor

The Somerset Levels spoil you - you expect too much sometimes.  The bitterns were booming, but I didn't see any inspite of a long vigil.  However I had a fantastic view of a marsh harrier and watched some great hobby aerial acrobatics.

The hobbies are back and that is a sure sign that summer is almost upon us.  One hobby grabbed a butterfly whilst it was busy chasing another.  It made short work of it, ripping off its wings, which fell to the ground, while the bird feasted mid-flight.

A cuckoo was heard for the first time this year also, and could be seen perching a long way off in a willow tree.

Some parents already had young such as the great-crested grebe and the graylag geese.

Proud and protective parents

Another sign of the new season was the warblers: chiff-chaff, willow, reed and Cetti's warblers and whitethroats singing their various songs all day long.

  White-throat showing where its name comes from...

Who's shell is this...?

Fantastic spring

Gotta love it.  Although it was a cool evening I was not disappointed with my wanderings after work this week.  Its been lovely and sunny (to coin a phrase) and hence everything has been brought on suddenly.

The trees are really greening up and the hedgerows are blotched with the white of the blackthorn.

 Blackthorn

In the woodlands the primroses, wood anemone and lesser celandines have been joined by the star attraction - the bluebells - everyone's favourite and rightly so.  We are very lucky to have such a spectacle of amazing blue in our ancient woodlands.

Bluebells and the yellow of lesser celandine in evening light

Wood anemone

The old grasslands, where the plough or the fertiliser has not reeked its havoc, host a myriad of special plants.  On the limestone, where I was visiting, the violets provide the first purple of the year, with the proud cowslips dotted across sward in clumps or singly.

 Cowslip

 Violets

Where the woodland edge meets the unimproved grassland, and the  capricious primrose can mix with the cowslip, the false-oxslip can sometimes be found.  This is different to the true ox-slip which is a species in itself.

False oxslip

Of course the grassland owes its existance to the hungry sheep which keep it short and this grazing in turn encourages the fabulous diversity of flowers.

I'll leave the last words to the singing robin...

Thames treats: Red kites and fritillaries

We visited some friends this weekend in Marlow.  This lovely town sits on the famous Thames and, although near to London, retains a real village-like feel.  As the sun shone, it was a day for a river-side walk and an ice-cream.  We were not alone as the river was busy with sailing boats.

Thames sailing

A number of years ago the red kite was reintroduced near there by English Nature and is now doing really well.  I counted around two dozen circling above a housing estate riding the thermals and occasionally clashing in mid air.  Apparently they are fed by some people.  Kites eat a wide variety of food including rabbits, voles, rats, mice, birds and earthworms, but many of these are taken as carrion following road collisions or pest control.

Red kites

Further up the Thames lies a precious gem - North Meadow., Cricklade  As we returned home (hot and tired) we could not resist making a quick visit.  This is a National Nature Reserve and home to the majority of England's remaining snake's-head fritillary flowers.  This is a delicate inverted tulip-like flower, which appears each spring before the more agressive grasses and other meadow flowers crowd it out.  It is a stunner...

Snake's-head fritillary flowers

The flowers have a pretty chequered pattern and occur in a purple form and a less common white form.  For more information go to the following web site from Natural England: http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/designatedareas/nnr/1006112.aspx

If you get a chance to go don't miss it.  In summer this meadow is also spectacular for its other plants and insects...but get there before it's cut for hay!