DAISY CARPET

It has been cold enough in recent days for this photo to be of snow lying on the ground. In fact it is the eyecatching carpet of daisies growing in the country park, as seen on Wednesday 16th. The grass has been slow to grow here but the daisies have decided that spring is here. They say that if you can place your foot on the ground and it can cover more than 12 daisy flowers, then spring has arrived!

One or two migrants continue to trickle onto the Island in recent days despite the chilly breeze blowing. The first blackcap at the park was heard by the pond on Monday, while a willow warbler was heard singing from the car park. The same birds were still singing from the same areas the following day. A different willow warbler was singing from a different corner on Wednesday morning.The couple of swallows from Bromans Farm have been hunting over the park in recent days too, sometimes perching near the car park.

It was great to welcome back from Africa, one of the male nightingales back to the same spot that it has frequented for the last two summers. As I opened the park up on Thursday morning, the rich and very recognisable song was being belted out from a thicket of ivy and brambles. The bird had obviously just arrived during the night but still found the energy to sing out loud in the morning.

The sunny weather on Wednesday brought good numbers of adders out with a peak count this year of ten being seen in the park. Three of the adders had recently shed their skin and so their markings were really bright and very silvery-grey in the background colour. There was a much larger gathering of them in the traditional spot, so it would appear that some have come back to find a mate.

Butterflies have been hard to find this spring so far, although most recent days there have been one or two peacocks flying about in the warm, sheltered spots.

The Thorleys have seen male and female wheatears near the Youth Camp on Monday and Tuesday. Andy Field saw a whimbrel and a pair of avocets near the Point on Thursday.