Starting at Higham Marshes, whilst working with the RSPB we caught sight of a couple of Great White Egrets. This species has eluded me forever, so I'm over the moon to finally tick it! I didn't have my camera so you'll have to excuse the awful photo, I literally stuck my phone through the binoculars!
We also got Cattle Egrets on the same day, and other some news on Twitter I headed back (this time armed with camera) to see what I could find.
First up was a Peregrine, one day I'll get a nice close up but for now have yet another distant underlit shot perched on a pylon 🙃 I had a flyby female Merlin later in the day, way too quick for a snap but great to see!
The news on Twitter said that a couple of rarities had been sighted on Alpha Pool, a large body of water essentially connecting Higham Marshes to Cliffe Pools. After a lot of scanning I finally caught this pair of Red Breasted Mergansers! Although not especially rare nationally, they are remarkably scarce round here, and this couple were my first ever! Also, a gorgeous Slavonian Grebe in striking winter plumage was hanging out near Cliffe Fort, another lifer! Also ticked today was Rock Pipit, Greenshank and Goldeneye.
The wildfowl numbers are still going strong, with large rafts of Wigeon and Teal, with occasional Pochard and Pintail in amongst them. It won't be long until a lot of these guys move off to summer breeding grounds, although some will stick around.
However, with the end of Winter comes Spring, and you know what that means, reptiles! They're just starting to emerge from brumation, and on warmer, sunny days I'm starting to notice them scuttling about.
This Viviparous Lizard at Swanscombe decided it would be a good idea to jump from my hand, onto the camera and then onto my face, where he happily sat for a few minutes! I've never had anything like this, I think he was as surprised as I was where he ended up! Although I imagine I made an ideal basking spot 😂
After having some luck with lizards, I figured I'd try my Adder spots. Expecting maybe a fleeting sight at best, I couldn't believe my luck getting 8 individuals in one day! 2 juveniles and 6 adults, interestingly all females.
You'll have to excuse the terrible photo, my camera was on totally the wrong settings but it's so good finding some of last year's babies. Monitoring and managing breeding sites is essential to help out this (and any other) species, hopefully I'll be able to find this one again and watch her grow throughout the season.
As you can see from this particularly trusting one, they're mostly all in ecdysis. Having emerged from underground, they will all shed their skins before cracking on with feeding, establishing territories and breeding.
Whilst on my knees in the bramble coaxing an Adder into a pose I noticed this guy literally crawl over my leg! Got all the time in the world for Slow Worms, and unbelievably I now only need a Grass Snake to complete the Kentish reptiles, and we're not even out of February!
Up to 105 birds now the year, just ahead of target 😋 Until the next one!
