3.4.08

Had a really nice walk at Durlston Country Park today, although it was cloudy for a lot of the time it was still very nice and warm.
I started off by heading to the meadows to look for any early Early Spider Orchids, there seemed to be some patches of orchid leaves around, but I couldn't find any flowers.
Down by the sea cliffs there were lots of Herring Gulls and Greater Black-backed Gulls, with a few Fulmars around. On the water there were some small rafts of Guillemots, although I only spotted one Razorbill, and there were quite a few Shags flying about. As usual there were lots of Jackdaws and Feral Pigeons flapping in and out from the cliffs. There were lots of opportunities to practice birds in flight photos, here's one I got of a Fulmar.


Above Tilly Whim ledges I was very pleased to see 2 Adders, one male and one female, it's the first time I've seen them here and they were quite out in the open!


Further along the path, towards Durlston head I was very surprised to see a Badger running along up the slope of the cliff and then diving down a burrow! There seems to be a sett there, and if it is then it doesn't seem like the best location, when they leave the burrows they're just a few metres away from a 50ft drop into the sea!
On the turf by the badger setts was a female Wheatear, my first of the year. There were also quite a few other migrant birds around, a few Swallows and House Martins were flying in off the sea and in the scrub were plenty of Chiffchaffs as well as some Willow Warblers and one male Blackcap. Also, I'm pretty sure I heard a Reed Warbler singing from a patch of scrub, but I didn't get to see it and I'm not very good with bird songs.
Back down in the sheltered gully it felt very warm, there was a pair of Stonechats in some gorse, and lots of Chiffchaffs singing. On the sunny banks I came across my first Bee-flies of the year, I was very pleased to see them again.


The sun had also drawn out some Peacocks, as well as one Comma and one Small Tortoiseshell. There were lots of Bees around, with a nice variety of different species, also some Bloody-nosed Beetles. I also came across another Adder sunbathing, although she escaped before I managed a photo, and under a stone there was a nice Slow-worm (which also shot off very quickly!!).
Back up near the car-park a Raven circled overhead, and a couple of Peregrines flew past very quickly.

On the way home I decided to stop at a heathland site and see whether there were any Sand Lizards around, I managed to see about 8, all males and some were getting quite nice and green. There was also one Common Lizard here, and a nice male Wheatear.


Back at home, the Peregrines have continued to be quite active in the area, possibly showing some courtship behaviour as well which is very exciting. The Ravens haven't been around as frequently, although I still see them occasionally. Some butterflies are getting active, with Peacocks, Brimstones and Small Tortoiseshells being seen in the last few days. I put the moth trap out a couple of nights ago and caught 3 Small Quakers, 2 Common Quakers, 2 Clouded Drabs, 2 Hebrew Characters and one Early Grey.