A couple of weeks ago I tried to visit Browndown South after being told that it was open, but when I reached the gate it was firmly shut with a red flag flying. I was assured it was open today, so agreed to meet Ian in the morning. It was a glorious day and despite the quite strong south easterly wind the conditions looked perfect for sun bathing Adders.
As I walked on to the reserve Linnets flew overhead and there was a distant Greenfinch singing. I walked along the main path and it didn't take long to find the first Adder, a male on the corner of one of the cut ins.
It was out in the open but using the vegetation and dead bracken for a form of cover. It must have been there a while because just the slightest movement from me and it was away quite quickly. I came back several times, but it wasn't coming back.
I continued the walk along the main path, but had no luck in locating any more Adder. Blackcap and Chiffchaff were singing in the trees above me, this Chiffchaff showing well and it split its task into singing and searching the emerging leaves for food.
It crossed the path to the gorse on the other side.
As the leaves emerge it will become harder to photograph these little warblers as they forage and sing amongst the branches.
Plenty of Bluebells about along the path and in the cut ins.
A Speckled Wood settled on a bramble leaf out of the fresh breeze.
By now Ian had joined me and we set off together in search for some snakes, it was proving difficult but we did manage to get this male Brimstone nectaring on a Bluebell.
We walked along the top path without any sightings and then looped back around to the bottom path once again. A little way along Ian found this female, quite a big snake and quite happy to let us get close enough.
It would slowly move as if warming the whole body, but stayed in position.
A nice close up of thr head and eye.
When it did move the forked tongue flicked out constantly.
I was fascinated by the scales, they overlap and extend as the body moves, couldn't help thinking of dragon scales.
Finally she moved away slithering through the undergrowth, then stopped behind the leaves. There seemed to be enough sunlight getting through to warm and you can see how, when they want to, then can hide away and still get warm.
Snaked out we headed back, but as we passed a fenced off area close to the entrance there was a male Wheatear on the shingle and on closer inspection we found there to be two.
There was a little bit of a heat haze, but not enough to spoil the photographs.
Spring male Wheatears are extremely smart birds and very photogenic.
As we watched the Wheatears, Swallows zipped past heading north overhead, it seems as if spring is well and truly here now. The Browndown visit had delivered for another year so we decided to head off to our safe house, Titchfield Haven.
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