A very Good Friday...

What a lovely days its been. All morning there were clear blue skies and only a little breeze with some warm sunshine. As it was a busy bank holiday and our coast roads are heaving with visitors (cheers Robson) we haven't been far. I resurrected the garden table and chairs after the winter sojourn and did some weeding, planting and pruning while keeping an eye open for garden visitors.

First though, a negative record. There are still no Chiffchaffs singing here. This is getting quite late now as last year we had good numbers from 10th March, but I suppose they will be coming to a willow near us very soon.

The moth trap has been ok this week with double figure catches most nights of the usual orthosias etc, and today we saw our first butterfly of 2016, a Small Tortoiseshell on the windowsill. Unfortunately it was on its toes before the camera could get focussed. The flowering currants in the garden are 'pinking up' nicely and were visited by a few Buff tailed Bumblebees with one Early Bumblebee today.

The area around the nestboxes was particularly busy with pairs of Tree Sparrows squabbling for squatters rights, whilst high overhead, a Skylark sang constantly. If only all spring days could be like this....

House Sparrow at the terrace....the opposite end to last year.

Trying to get both birds in the gap between the twigs was tricky. Tree Sparrows.

Twin-spotted Quaker

Red Chestnut

Go Wild in the Country II...

Despite nursing the mother of all colds, I've tolerated it enough to go to work, so I can certainly manage to get out over the weekend, we headed off west to look for snakes...

Today has been a lovely 'quiet ' calm day, cool at times but a warmer 13* in sheltered spots. Birds were singing, the first Marsh Marigolds were in flower and an odd bumblebee droned by. At Branton Pits, the water was still, only disturbed by the clamour of Canada Geese. A Great crested Grebe was back on territory and Goldeneye were displaying before departure.

A slow stroll along the road side revealed 7 or 8 Adders out basking, hoping for sun through the hazy cloud. These snakes have an irritating habit of lying fully exposed apart from the bit you want to photograph, the head, but today I tried something new. One such individual seemed quite relaxed so I gently stroked its tail with a thin twig, like you would a trout under a stone, to see what it would do. It seemed inquisitive and began to come closer to my twig, tasting the air with its tongue to see what the movement was about. Once fully in the open, I stopped and took some pictures, then left it to bask in peace.

We left here for a brief roadside stop over looking some forest where the sky was full of raptors! There were 12 Buzzards, but better still a juv Goshawk being mobbed by a Sparrowhawk. Whilst too distant for photos, good views could be had with the scope and an excellent comparison with the two accipiters...

Lovely Aconites....

Every year at this time Denwick Church lights up with the golden glow of winter aconites. For me, these and Snowdrops raise the chequered flag to get ready for spring just a few long weeks away...

No doubt I will add more pics of these beauties as the snowdrops emerge between them. This year there seems to be a lot at Denwick, possibly due to increased light after the removal of a large dying tree last spring. All the trampling hasn't done the flowers any harm.

What to Look for in Spring...

...goes the title of the ladybird book first published in 1961. I had all of the 'seasons' series, beautifully illustrated by Charles Tunnicliffe. They were very evocative of halcyon days out in the field, before all people cared about was their XBox, OK magazine, Big Brother, Bankers Bonuses, Cuts, Libya and Stejnegers Scoters. I loved them.

Toady up at Branton Pits doing the count with Mr Rutter, was just like the Spring one.

A pair of Great Crested Grebes were keeping close, while Coots were territorial and the Reed Buntings looked lost as they had just returned to look for a place to call home.

Sallows bloomed around the margins, just waiting some warm sunshine to get the bees and moths to pollinate...

A Chiffchaff was in full song between flycatching sorties, and a Redwing looked ready to have a sing before heading north.

The Black headed Gull colony was starting to crowd up while down at the river, the Dippers were in full breeding fettle..

Sigh...

[Oh and I forgot to add a proper patch tick this morning. A single Red legged Partridge was along the lane end.]