Here is a collage of just the flowers of just some of the wildflowers that can be seen at Hastings Country Park right now. How many can you identify?

There being no work today I took the opportunity to go into Warren Glen to carry on with some of my historical research which at the moment involves checking on the ground for signs of features that are shown on old maps. I have recently started to use GIS software to overlay these maps on current satellite imaging which enables me to obtain lattitude and longitude from maps that are not marked and transfer this to GPS for use in the field.

Today my quest was rewarded by finding a feature that I feared had disappeared in a landslip and also to see my first reptile of the year.

A male adder freshly out of hibernation and yet to slough (shed its skin) for the first time this year. Although adders are said to emerge in March it is not unusual to see them in February, particularly males which tend to emerge a few weeks earlier than the females typically when the daytime temperatures rise above 8 degrees C.

Recent clearance work in the quarry has enabled easier study of the flora and fauna in this singular habitat. A sighting was made at the foot of the birch tree that stands alone in the quarry (now that it has been freed from gorse and bramble), and the sighting was another notable first for the Country Park. A brightly coloured Banded Centipede with distinctively striped legs was searching through the friable earth between the birch roots. It didn’t run away at speed when spotted, and this gave another clue to its identity. It was Lithobius variegatus, a species that is common in the western part of the country but seems to be absent from most of the eastern half, hence a record from the Country Park is worth having.

A sunny Boxing Day stroll through the old quarry and along the top of Warren Glen was enriched by the sight of a kestrel hovering overhead, and a couple of Gorse Shieldbugs lurking in the undergrowth. It was good to see a lot of people enjoying the Country Park on a beautiful winter’s day, the car park hasn’t seen that number of cars for a very long time.

A foray into the old sand quarry during today’s very welcome sunshine found a couple of 7-spot ladybirds warming themselves, one on a leaf of wood sage and the other in gorse. As yesterday was the shortest day the sun is at its lowest point in the sky and the contrast of bright red elytra against green foliage shone out beautifully.

The rare pleasure of a morning with sunshine and no wind while shaded areas of the Country Park were still rimmed with frost provided the unexpected discovery of a very late season Gorse Shieldbug in the quarry. Sightings of shieldbugs in late November are highly unlikely. The air temperature had risen to (approximately) 4 degrees and the bug was tucked well into the gorse yet it had sufficient energy to sidle away from the camera’s attention.

A variable afternoon of full sunlight to dark clouds revealed a kestrel sitting in a tree opposite the Visitor Centre, a number of small flocks of Goldfinch dotted about the cover crops in the arable fields, a Green Woodpecker on the Firehills and another on Brakey Bank, in the Quarry a Small Copper, Red Admiral and Ruddy Darter and a brace of Mallard in the gloom on Saxon Pond. Well worth the walk!

The cold easterly winds that are sweeping much of the Country Park are keeping out of the quarry allowing warmth to build up on the south facing aspects. This has enabled a leisurely Sunday afternoon stroll to be brightened by several Small Copper butterflies, a couple of Common Darter dragonflies, plenty of Gorse Shieldbugs, and a lone Devil’s Coach Horse.