IDEAL SNAKE WEATHER

Mike Taylor visited the country park yesterday and his patience with his camera was rewarded with great views of adders. Two of his photos are shown here, with this picture above showing the red eye in close-up with the adder.


A brief search of the park this morning, Wednesday 28th, revealed two new adders basking in locations where they were seen last year. Today's tally was four individuals and taking into account four seen yesterday and some duplication, suggests at least seven adders in the park so far. Also seen today were a couple of common lizards scurrying into the grass tussocks.

A chiffchaff was still singing loudly from the trees by the park pond. Also here were 15 shoveler, 10 tufted duck, 4 gadwall and 2 snipe. On the fields 180 wigeon, 70+ teal, 35 golden plover, 25+ snipe, 25 black-tailed godwit, 20 redshank and 10 lapwing. At the beginning of the day a red-legged partridge was seen calling from the top of a post and rail fence by a garden in Bromans Lane. At the end of the day the regular little owl called loudly from a tree in Bromans Lane near the park entrance.

From the seawall corner near the Point, 10 marsh harriers could be seen soaring and gliding over Langenhoe Point in the morning sunshine. Some of the males were performing their stoop displays over the marsh. On the nearby mud were 300 brent geese with 100 of them seen later feeding in the fields.

Yesterday a peregrine glided over the fields and caused a bit of panic amongst many of the birds. Earlier a marsh harrier had been seen flying over the fields as well. In the mouth of the Colne were 8 red-breasted mergansers in the afternoon.

Andy Field found a white wagtail in the park fields on Sunday, while Martin Cock heard two chiffchaffs between Shop Lane and Meeting Lane the previous day.



The moth trap had surprising amount of moths in it considering the clear and chilly night. In total 85 macro moths is nearly the biggest March haul here. This pine beauty was one that caught the eye, as very few are caught in early spring here.
Other moths noted were oak beauty, hebrew character, small quaker, common quaker, March moth, red chestnut, clouded drab,


A couple of these early greys, one pictured above, were the first ones noted this spring here.


This rather plain twin-spot quaker has the two small black dots on each wing which help to identify this moth. It turns up each spring but only one or two each year.

Butterfly numbers have been low at the park despite the sunshine with comma, peacock and small white the only ones seen over the last few days.