Samphire Hoe - warm, dry and sunny, light airs - Easter Monday in the sunshine was perhaps not the best time for a family visit to the Hoe, but once clear of the car park it wasn`t too bad. We walked down to the fossil beach where a few Med Gulls and Rock Pipits were heard and seen. Along the way at least six Wheatears, four Stonechats, Meadow Pipit and Skylark were noted, plus Robin, Linnet and Blackbird in the scrub. Atop the White Cliffs a pair of Ravens gave short-thrift to a passing Peregrine, Buzzard and Red Kite; and they even gave a couple of microlights the once over! The return trail beside the railway line, below the chalk cliffs, provided the perfect micro-climate for winged insects, particularly butterflies with plenty of Peacocks, a few Orange Tips, a Small Copper and best of all a Large Tortoiseshell; many thanks to the unknown observer who tipped me off. Several Early Spider Orchid rosettes were also in view as well as an Adder basking in a sun-trap.
First thing this morning, with a grass-frost on New Romney park, two migrant Willow Warblers sang from the trees while a trickle of high, calling Mediterranean Gulls passed overhead.
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