COUNTING ADDERS

The sun came out at times on Monday 17th - and so did the adders! Numbers are still about the same as recent days with four females the only ones on show today. This female above was very obliging as it basked beside a path, letting me hold the camera less than a metre away. Some of the other females seemed to be taking full advantage of the fleeting glimpses of the sun, by flattening their bodies. This makes their girth seem much thicker than normal, but it means more of their body gets the sun.

One of the chiffchaffs was still keeping out of the cold wind at the pond, feeding low down in the willow bushes. Also enjoying the sheltered conditions and feeding around the yellow catkins were some blue tits and long-tailed tits. On the pond were two pochard as well as a few tufted ducks and shoveler.

Waders and wildfowl continued to enjoy the flooded fields with 12 black-tailed godwits and 20 curlew seen. Several pairs of lapwing continue to display with some starting to practice scraping nests. Wigeon of course appeared to be around most patches of water.
The main brent goose flock spent the afternoon feeding on the wheat field near the park. It was quite a spectacle to see 1000 noisy geese fly over the car park in one big flock.