Spring 2010 April
April has brought misty mornings and sunny days, as well as longer hours of daylight. The woods are carpeted with violets and primroses, glowing against arrow-head shaped cuckoo pint leaves. Mosses are lush. Chiff-chaff and willow warblers are calling high in the branches of trees. The ground is crowded with tree seedlings. The yellow grass of winter is being replaced by fresh green grass. Hillsides are trembling with catkins and pussy willows, and gorse is in flower.
Gardens are humming with bees, butterflies are venturing out and birds are looking for mates.
High up on the Downs, snipe can be seen looking for nesting sites. Fresh white piles of chalk tell us where the badgers are building extensions. Today, I surprised a hare which had been basking in the sunshine.
By Geraldine Aldridge
1st West Hythe. Just after arriving heard a dunnock by the car park also chiffchaff in pussy willow by path along by the canal. At the weir I spotted a buzzard flying over going towards the marsh in a Westerly direction. I wasn't entirely sure what it was because it had a fork to its tail but definitely wasn't a kite.
Among other birds heard were, song thrush, chaffinch and green finch apart from the numerous rooks in the rookery.
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![Fungi [daldinia concentrica]](/images/wildlife/5.jpg "Fungi [daldinia concentrica]")
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3rd Went to Brockhill Park and saw my first lamb of the year also the sight of ferns growing high up on the branches of an oak tree, it looked quite rainforest like.
Later visited W.Hythe and saw my first bumble bee, later saw some long tailed tits and chiff chaff.
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![Bumble Bee [bombus lucorum]](/images/wildlife/10.jpg "Bumble Bee [bombus lucorum]")
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5th St Margrets Bay on the cliff tops I enjoyed seeing fulmars flying and resting on the cliff face and was lucky to catch site of a peregrine falcon on three occasions flying below me by the cliffs and on the last one it flew out to sea and I lost sight of it.
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8th Stodmarsh I first went to the Grove Ferry end to see what was there and was greeted by the lovely sight of the Blackthorne in blossom also a clear blue sky with no vapour trails from jets due to the Iceland volcano fall out. Also one of my first sightings of a peacock butterfly together with a good view of a reed bunting and a circling kestel.
From here I drove over to the Stodmarsh end and enjoyed watching courting marsh harriers over the reed beds.
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15th W.Hythe Came across a young grass snake and slow-worm sheltering, my first of the year.
Had a good view of a pair of bull finches, the male is such an attractive bird.
Did manage to get a clear view of one of the herons nests and could see a young being fed also a very good view of a heron that was standing on my side of the canal such a striking looking bird.
From here I walked over to some disused gravel pits I hadn't been to before. Not much around but I got a close view of a pair of oyster catchers who at one point were mating and not long after that just as I was taking some shots they flew off and when I looked up I saw that a female sparrow hawk had just flown very close to the pair who were now mobbing the hawk.
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