Nuthatch activity on my Church patch.

Ive always heard the Nuthatches in and around my Church patch, and Ive seen them often enough, Ive also managed to capture a few photos, but for the most part I had failed to get any decent shots to date. So I set out to watch them for an hour or so, and just see if I could finally get some good shots. I had noticed that they would occasionally land on part of the church wall, but more often than not, they would soon fly off when I approached that area. So I set up camp(well, I stood near the area where I had seen them!) and camera at the ready, just waited, without trying to move too much. It wasnt long before they put on a show, I would say there were at least 2 to 4 of them(possibly more?) it was hard to keep track of the numbers. It seems that they have a stash of nuts/seeds/food in a hole in the Church wall, and they visited this stash often! I also witnessed them preening in nearby trees and I saw 2 different birds remove large bugs from trees. I think I did quite well all in all, I missed the preening shots, and I wish I would have been closer when they were drilling the trees for those delicious bugs, but you cant "win em all".

Some photos then. All shots were taken on the 22nd of March.

Feisty Female Adder.

Well, it had to happen, I had been putting in some extra time searching for an early showing of a female Adder, and yesterday(Thursday the 24th of March) I struck gold. It was quite warm by lunchtime, and after looking at the usual locations, there were no signs at all of the male Adders. Then I saw a female, but it wasn't showing too well, so I took a record shot of it and carried on my search, hoping that in time it might venture further out for a better chance of a photo.
I came across the smallest Lizard I had ever seen, and took some shots of that, also there were plenty of Commas showing, and a few Brimstones flying past at speed. A pair of Buzzards flew overhead quite low down, and began to display , but like a fool I had forgotten I had the camera set to macro(no wonder it refused to focus!!!) so I missed a good opportunity there! A Mistle Thrush was seen, and a fair few Jays too, also Nuthatch and Green Woodpecker were heard.
On my way back, I did return to the very same spot that I sighted the female Adder, and sure enough she had moved to a different location, and was showing better. She was definitely on the small side, so chances are she was young.
A word of warning here, unlike the males who seem to tolerate having their photo taken, this female was feisty, and she even had a half hearted strike at me. So to anyone thinking of taking photos of these fantastic reptiles, please be extremely careful when doing so, and show both caution and respect at all times.
Something else to consider, is the fact the the temperature was higher than what it had been recently, so Adders will certainly be more active after having basked in hotter temps. for longer periods of time.


PS. Coming soon to a Blog near you :-)   I had a fantastic time recently at my church patch, when I devoted an hour or more! to just photographing Nuthatches and their movements. I managed to capture some really nice photos. Nuthatches are truly wonderful birds, but are a pain in the backside to pin down, but I did just that, and more.

Some reptile photos then.
The female Adder at first glance.

Then on returning, I found she had moved further out into the open.

The young/juvi Common Lizard.

One of the many Commas.

And these seem to be popping up everywhere too, a Bee Fly.

A mixed bag.

Highlights over several days in Feb./March, which are from different locations that I visit.
I seem to have spent quite a great deal of time chasing down reptiles this month, but I did photograph some good images of birds along the way too.
First off is my Church patch(which I dont get to visit as often as I would like) but when I do put some time in there, I always seem to see/find some good sights.
Red Legged Partridge can be found in good numbers, and these 2 are the best shots I have of them to date. Although these photos were taken back in mid Feb.

Still at my Church patch and on the 8th of March, I was lucky enough to capture long distance shots of Buzzards displaying mid air. This pair came together several times, but I was only able to get the one shot of them doing this. Photos have been heavily cropped.

Next up I was in Hadlow on the same day, and shot these green Woodpecker photos from the inside my car.

Then driving home after work on the 4th of March, I was surprised to see this lone Lapwing in a field at the Kings Hill estate.

I don't "Adam an Eve it".

A last minute decision to make a pit stop(lunch break!) at my local reptile area on Tuesday, proved well worth it, because as I started sweeping the area, I noticed in the distance that a young chap was also doing the very same as me! Although I had never met Adam before, I just knew it had to be him. I had already found both Adder and Common Lizard, and just as Adam came closer, I spotted another Common Lizard, and proceeded to shoot some pics of it. I Asked Adam if he would like to take some shots of the lizard, which he did, then we formerly introduced ourselves.
The fog/mist was spoiling our chances of finding anything else, so I offered to work our way back towards the area were that Adder might still be, and sure enough it was there. Then just as we were leaving the area, I took one last look and was amazed to find a beautiful Grass Snake(first sighting of 2011). We shot some good photos of it, then we agreed it was time to return to work!
Adam was kind enough to give me some birding advice on what I might hope to find(migrants passing through) in the nearby paddocks/fields. Thanks for that mate, and once again it was a pleasure to meet you.

So that was a fruitful lunch break then, Adder, 2 Common Lizards, and the surprise Grass Snake. Then later that day the sun came back out, and I spotted a Comma Butterfly in Teston. All in all, not a bad haul (during work!!!)

Some photos then.

The first Common Lizard playing "hide an seek".

The 2nd Lizard was lighter in colour, and out in the open.

The surprise Grass Snake, and if you look you can see it has an old wound that has healed up.

Later that day, the Comma Butterfly.

Waxwings in West Malling? Why ever not!

After hearing/reading(thanks to Adam Whitehouse's Blog) about the Waxwings at West Malling, I thought I would drop in on them Tuesday just gone. Well, the sun was out in force, and I was passing that way, so I couldn't really say no could I?!
I drove straight past a couple of them eating berries, and parked my car in a dubious fashion!    "I wasn't staying here long officer, honest I wasn't!!!"
The sun was behind me so I just started taking pics, but then they flew up into a tree and showed no signs of coming back down, their bellies full no doubt!
I was joined by another guy(sporting a big camera/ lens combi.) so we chatted away, taking the occasional pic, but we really wanted these waxwings to come down to feed. A Grey Wagtail landed on a roof, but just as I pointed my camera at it, it flew off! We had a count up, and agreed there were 10 Waxwings in situ.
It was getting to the point were I was going to leave, but then true to form, down flew these beautiful birds, to gulp down some more berries. We both captured some good shots, then went our separate ways.

Some photos then, and this is my 3rd time connecting with these beauties(Snodland and East Malling being the previous 2 times) Im sure glad I took the slight detour now. Cheers.

As always, click on the photos to enlarge.

Adders, Common Lizards, and a Butterfly.

Its no secret I like Reptiles as well as Birds, so I thought it was time to see if I could get an early sighting of an Adder for 2011. I went to my usual location on the 25th of Feb, and I actually sighted 3 Adders on that day. I have been back to that area several times since, and not only sighted more Adders, but also 3 Common Lizards, and on the 7th of March I spotted a Comma Butterfly.

I would just like to point out, that these Reptiles are never disturbed by me, and all photographs are taken in situ.

Some photos then. As usual click on image to enlarge. Cheers.

25th of Feb. and 3 Adders were sighted(all males).

27th of Feb. and possibly 2 of the same Adders basking together.

The 7th of March, and after waiting for some time, Common Lizards showed up.

Also, before I sighted the Lizards, I did see my first Comma for 2011.