1st Jolly Up Hod Hill 2022

Mrs PB at work, me on a day off, forecast no wind and glorious sunshine... must be time for a butterfly hunt up Hod Hill

Stepped out of the front door, whizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... the House Martins were in full flow

At the base of the slope up to Hod Hill itself, I spied a flash of colour on a tree trunk.... Red Admiral drying off, with a neighbourly bee

On the ground, just off the sheep trail I was following, snails!

There's some woodland alongside the trail up to the hill, inhabited by the usual folk, Robins, Blackbirds, Great and Blue Tits, and I also spied a Treecreeper, that stayed very elusive, unfortunately

Quick quiz....any thoughts what this is please? (Possibly a Whitethroat, I think I heard one singing in the rough area this chap was in)

There was a lot of Skylark song in the air, and I think this is one, but I'm not 100% because of the white collar

Another pair I'm not sure of... possibly Wheatears (grey head and an eyestripe), but perched up a tree which I'm not used to seeing them doing

Hawking low over the grass was a Swallow

There were a few Skylarks in song flight

Going solely by the tail, the next flier is a Wheatear

Skylark on one of the forts' ridges

Red Leg Partridge flushed by the farmer on his quad bike whilst he was counting bullocks!

High in a tree a Goldfinch sang

And from the same tree a Yellowhammer flew a short distance to a neighbouring tree

Again, not 100% sure, because of unusual markings, but Mistle Thrush?

And who flies in an odd manner, like this?

Finally, another butterfly... Small Heath

And then the sun went away and a massive bank of cloud rolled in, so I headed back to the car, spotting a Linnet

And finally a pair of Yellowhammers

I hope you enjoyed the elevation of Hod Hill, without the effort!! I'll be back later in the summer hopefully for a more butterfly-y day!!

Thanks for reading

Stay Safe All