With a temperature of ca. 14oC late afternoon I did a quick jaunt into FLP where I found a fresh male Orange Tip which seemed to be preparing to roost as it was generally approachable and hence easy to photograph.
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| male Orange Tip |
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| male Orange Tip |
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| male Orange Tip |
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| male Orange Tip |
A week on from the last trip to Castle Hill NNR near Woodingdean and the number of Early Spider Orchids in flower had significantly increased, particularly at the 'new' site on the other side of the valley where there were approximately 50 plants in a relatively small area. The warmer sunnier weather also benefitted the butterflies with the first Dingy and Grizzled Skippers of the year and a couple of Small Coppers.
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| Early Spider Orchid |
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| Early Spider Orchid |
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| Early Spider Orchid |
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| Early Spider Orchid |
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| Early Spider Orchid |
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| Early Spider Orchid |
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| Dingy Skipper |
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| Dingy Skipper |
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| Grizzled Skipper |
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| Grizzled Skipper |
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| Small Copper |
Still a paucity of butterflies at Horseshoe Plantation and still unseasonably cold weather. Just a few Small Coppers flying around. I also found a dead Adder and saw a male and female Pheasant. Back at the East Sussex Cemetery there was a very appealing pale pink Green-winged Orchid in flower.
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| male Pheasant |
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| female Pheasant |
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| Adder |
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| Small Copper |
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| Green-winged Orchid |
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| Green-winged Orchid |
The sun finally came out late afternoon and with rising temperatures I took a brisk walk to Combe Haven CP where I found my first Holly Blue of the year, a male that had clearly just emerged and spent most of the time just resting on the leaves of a bush.
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| male Holly Blue |
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| male Holly Blue |
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| male Holly Blue |
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| Early Purple Orchid |
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| Early Purple Orchid |
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| Early Purple Orchid |
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| Early Purple Orchid |
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| Green-veined White |
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| Green-veined White |
Well what a difference 5 days can make! The Green-winged Orchid display had now progressed from a single plant barely in flower to several plants some of which were almost fully in flower. Clearly from looking around there are hundreds more in bud and hence this promises to be a good year for this orchid at this site.
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| Green-winged Orchid |
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| Green-winged Orchid |
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| Green-winged Orchid |
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| Green-winged Orchid |
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| Green-winged Orchid |
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| Green-winged Orchid |
My first visits of the year to Horseshoe Plantation and it all seemed pretty quiet - clearly Spring had not yet sprung here. All I could find in terms of butterflies were a Speckled Wood and Small Coppers although the latter were very fresh and intensely coloured.
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| Speckled Wood |
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| Speckled Wood |
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| Small Copper |
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| Small Copper |
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| Small Copper |
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| Small Copper |
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| Small Copper |
Early Spider Orchids had already been reported from parts of Dorset so I decided to check out my usual site at Castle Hill to see if there were any in flower. However the lack of recent rain and below average temperatures seemed to have had a delaying effect this year since neither I, nor another couple I met, could find any. Later we met someone who directed us to a new spot on the other side of the valley where there were a few plants just coming into flower. On the way back to Bexhill I stopped off at Beachy Head and saw my first Small Copper of the year.
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| Early Spider Orchid |
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| Early Spider Orchid |
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| Small Copper |
Just for the record I visited my favourite East Sussex cemetery to see if I could find some early Green- winged Orchids. Given the recent cold, albeit sunny, spring weather flowering plans seemed to be ca. 2 weeks behind schedule. However to my delight I found a single plant just starting to flower! I planned to monitor this site over the coming weeks to see how the GWOs developed.
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| Green-winged Orchid |
I decided to check out West Rise Marsh near Eastbourne, partly because a Red-rumped Swallow had recently been seen there, although I thought the chances of seeing it were slim. This turned out to be the case although I did see several Reed Buntings and Meadow Pipits. Thereafter I headed off for a walk around Beachy Head where I managed to photograph a Raven, Jackdaw and a male Stonechat.
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Jackdaw |
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| Raven |
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| male Stonechat |