Tuesday 27th March 2012

An early start this morning - 5000 plants to go in the ground at work!  A Meadow Pipit was displaying near Gallagher's Gallop and a pair of Little Owls were found in one of the paddocks near East Malling, with another bird in it's usual haunt near Kiln Barn Farm.  Later a couple of Buzzards were reported over the research station by a colleague.

Venus, Jupiter and Mars all showed very well this evening as well!

Monday 26th March 2011

A day off work and a cycle ride to Shipbourne from Barming turned loads of Beeflies, a Brimstone, 5x Peacocks, 2x Commas, 1x 'White' and my first Bluebells of the year!!!!

Wednesday 21st March 2012

I managed to get my Wheatears this morning - two males, distantly in the Paris Farm Paddocks (too far for a photo...even by my standards!).  Yesterday's Stonechat have moved on, but the sun and heat (18.C on the research station) brought out a good number of butterflies with 9x Comma and 2x Peacock seen on the circular track around Oaken Wood, Barming.  A good day for Song Thrushes with 7x birds in total being seen along my cycle route into work.

Tuesday 20th March 2012

Another bright day and I was hopeful that I might get sight of a Wheatear on patch today - it had that feel about it.  3x Chiffchaffs were heard calling around the east side of Oaken Wood, the Little Owl was sunning itself opposite Kiln Barn Farm with a small flock of Linnets flitted restlessly around the nearby hedgerow.  No migrants in either the Sweets Lane or Paris Farm paddocks, but I was pleased to pick out a cracking male Stonechat further along the footpath between Paris Farm and Kiln Barn Road (exactly where I'd had one in September last year).  Nearby a field of Meadow Pipits were flushed up by a low swooping Sparrowhawk.  A butterfly/moth was also seen - it landed momentarily before taking flight - it looked much too small for a Red Admiral - any suggestions (based on the my awkward photo!)

19th March 2012

First Chiffchaff of the year on patch today, just S of the underpass on Gallagher's Gallop.  80+ Fieldfare, 5+ Redwing and a charm of Goldfinch and Linnet were feeding in the one of the research station's orchards (N of the main entrance track leading from Kiln Barn Road).  Later I followed a female Sparrowhawk as it swooped over Mill Street, East Malling (a species I failed to connect with in this tetrad before) and happened on probably the same bird as I entered the research station 5 minutes later.

Wednesday 29th February 2012

A quick bike ride out at lunchtime to try and get Grey Heron, Skylark, Meadow Pipit or Linnet onto the West Malling/Mill St tetrad of the KOS winter Atlas.  Third attempt to do so, but I wasn't lucky - very surprising that these species remain absent despite some ideal habitat for these species.

I did see a Red Admiral in East Malling, woken from it's slumbers by the Spring-like sunshine.  23x Pied Wagtails shuffled around the newly-harrowed organic plot on the Research land, until a Sparrowhawk cast its shadow across them.  One of the Common Gulls that has been frequenting the research land was found dead, minus its head, probably a victim of a fox.  I was pleased to find a Kingfisher on the watercress beds, the first I'd seen on this part of the patch for a number of years, to be topped on my cycle home in the evening with a pair of Little Owls near Kiln Barn Farm.