The first Spotted Flycatcher(89) arrived on 11th with two in the small wood on the dam end and later the same day the first Turtle Dove(90) was caught in flight and then purred from inside the tree it had landed in.
On the 13th I received news of two birds that had been seen in the garden of Hononton farmhouse. The first was a Black Redstart on the 21st March and the second a HOOPOE!! that was in the garden at 16.45pm on 29th April. To say I am gutted is an understatement.
I consoled myself with the sighting of a Whinchat(91) in Kirkins later that evening.

Distant shot of Whinchat

Interestingly this is only my second spring record.

Today I saw my first Painted Lady this spring.

I managed a shot of one of the three  Reed Warblers on the lake.

The two Lesser Whitethroats still seemed to holding territories and two fledgling Grey wagtails have put in an appearance on the stream.Two robin fledglings were also seen today and the brood of mallard ducklings still totals five.There was also another pair of Common Terns on the lake this afternoon.

The first Swift(86) of the year arrived on Sunday 3rd May over the house as we came back from shopping after which the next arrival was a Yellow Wagtail(87) that flew over Furnace pond at 6am on the 8th on a morning when the wind had died. On the afternoon of the same day two Common Terns(88) were on the lake and as I watched them two more drifted over south.
On Saturday 9th two Lesser Whitethroats were singing-one in Tucks orchard and one in Kirkins.
The Cuckoo continues to call down by the lake giving occasional distant views
Walking down Furnace Lane I stumbled across this Red legged Partridge- a really smart bird!

R-L Partridge

Three Mandarin drakes were on the lake' hopefully the ducks are sitting on eggs somewhere.Two Garden Warblers are still singing at the southern end but the Great crested grebes have lost their nest again.

Whilst talking to one of the anglers on the lake a Lesser Spotted woodpecker flew over us and down the lake.

Today has been an interesting one as a walk this morning didn't produce anything new but there was another pair of Common Terns on the lake and I witnessed the male catch a fish and feed the female.Unfortunately there are no island on the lake so they are not likely to ever stick around.

Female Common Tern at Furnace.

Working in the garden today we had some brilliant views of two Hobbys low over the house which were probably attracted by the hirundines that had gathered overhead. 

This afternoon we had a walk up to Haymans hill to a field that has had its apple trees removed.On entering it I noticed a bird sitting on the ground which when I put my Binos on turned out to be a Fieldfare.What a Fantastic bird for May!!!

Rather late Fieldfare-Not a brilliant shot but I didn't get too close as I didn't want to spook it.

On the walk back to the village a Red Kite went over us going S/E.

This afternoons Red Kite

All in all a very interesting day.

As April drew to a close four more species were added to the list with a fly over Tree Pipit(82) on the 26th which was an expected bonus on another dismal day.
On the 27th we went to Harry Potter world which gave me the chance of an early walk before we left.
On my walk I encountered 4 Garden Warblers in different parts of the patch as well as two Lesser Whitethroats and on the lake the first Reed Warbler(83) was singing from the south east corner. I popped in to the lake in the evening and found a pair of Tufted Ducks.

Later that evening I decided to have walk out just before dark and was delighted to find a Nightingale (84) singing from an area I found a couple last year.

A walk on  Wednesday evening produced the first Hobby(85) which made a few attempts at the Swallows on the lake before flying off towards Shirrenden wood.

This morning (2nd May) I went out with the hope of the first Swift of the year but sadly didn't encounter any.

All the usual suspects were seen and it was great to find eight fledgling Long Tailed Tits beside the lake.

Long tailed Tits

It was a bit dark under the trees and there were a lot of branches to contend with. 

Whilst I was trying to get some shots of the fledglings a Marsh Tit flitted through.

Saturday 25th April 2015

At last a few summer migrants have started to arrive on the patch.
Saturday 18th saw me starting my walk in the derelict orchard behind Tucks Cottages in the hope of finding a Willow Warbler in the place that they have nested in the last few years.Unfortunately none were found but a Cuckoo was calling as I entered and was answered by another towards the lake.
As I walked around the edge of the trees a bird flitted across and into the hedgerow. I soon caught up with it and was delighted to see it was a Redstart(77) , a brilliant start.
Walking down through Kirkins and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker flew over me and into the wood at the end of the paddock.
I counted 5 Blackcaps and 8 Chiffchaffs on the walk around and finally found a Willow Warbler down at the southern end of the lake.
The lake held two Mandarin Drakes and a Coot and the Great Crested grebe was still sitting.
On the 20th I had a walk just before dark to try to find a Nightingale in the area that I found two last year but was unsuccessful. However I did find a Whitethroat (78) and even better,a Lesser Whitethroat (79) . This is a very early date for me as most have occurred in the first week of May.
21St April produced my first House Martin of the year (80) .
On my way to work on Friday 24th I popped into a very foggy lake and heard a Garden Warbler singing(81).
Today started in drizzle and although no new species were seen there was a great variety. Tucks held two Cuckoos both male and female and I could also hear two other birds calling form opposite directions.Amazing!! A willow Warbler was also there and I found another Lesser Whitethroat at the top of Kirkins. Which is grate news if it hangs around. Another Whitethroat was located by the Pumping station.
At the lake I managed to get some good views of the Garden Warbler where there were also 4 House Martins and a few Swallows.
In total 51 species were seen. A fantastic total in two and a half hours.

Grey Wagtail

Swallow from in the week

When I popped down to the lake this afternoon I found this Mallard with 12 ducklings.

MID APRIL UPDATE

After the first Swallow on the 3rd nothing happened in the way of summer migrants as the cold weather persisted.
Interestingly though,on the 5th of the month a pair of Lesser Redpolls were present with the male singing in its courtship flight.
On the morning of the 10th seven Redwings and thirty four fieldfares arrived in the orchard next to the lake.
In the evening of the same day a Wheatear(73) was in Kirkins field .

Cropped image of Wheatear.

The Wheatear was still present on Saturday 11th and as I walked down thrugh the field a pair of Egyptian Geese flew passed me and over the village.Blackcaps had increased to three and i also had a single Meadow Pipit.

The next day(12th) the first Willow Warbler(74) was in the paddock behind the pumping station and the first Cuckoo(75) was heard on the 13th.

Finally on the 14th I had my first Red Kite(76) of the year at 16.45pm,down at the lake and had the good fortune to see another at 17.45pm as I walked up Gibbet lane.Both birds heading WNW.

Red Kite over WNW.

On the butterfly front I had six species-Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Orange Tip, Brimstone and Speckled Wood.

Small Tortoiseshell.

3rd April 2015

It was a horrible damp start to the day which persisted for most of the rest of it.At least the wind had died a bit but wasn't the light N/Westerly I was expecting.
The walk around kirkins didn't turn up anything new but it was good to find the male Linnet still singing at the top of the field.
The walk around produced 7 Chiffchaffs and a fly over Meadow Pipit which will probably be the last until autumn.A Skylark was singing over the large field at Swigs Hole and as I approached Furnace I was pleasantly surprised by bird song all around. Spring seems to have arrived even if the weather hasn't improved much.
The Yellowhammer was singing from the hedge near the pumping station but there didn't seem to have been any new arrivals.
I continued my walk around the orchard and down to the lake with a Grey heron flying over towards the stock pond. With not a lot to see I chatted to the lone angler at the lake and was delighted to see the first Swallow(72) of the spring fly up it.
A pair of Goldcrests busied themselves building a nest in some lakeside ivy and as I walked towards the Great Crested Grebes nest I was pleased to see 2 eggs.

Grebes nest

It's amazing how strong the urge to nest must be for them to start again within a week of loosing the last clutch.

Just before dark the weather seemed to have changed to what the weather man had predicted so hopefully something might turn up tomorrow.

Footnote:- Whilst driving in to Tonbridge this afternoon no less than 8 Buzzards were circling over the village of Five Oak Green.

Once again the month has whizzed by and the list has crept along.
The 12th saw me adding Red Legged Partridge(66) at six o'clock in the morning as one was on the road outside our house as I pulled off the drive.
The following day I had the first Chiffchaff(67) of the year as one was calling at the southern end of the lake.

First Chiffchaff of the year.

On the 15th a walk at the lake produced one of the Lesser Spots,30 Goldfinchesand 2 Lesser Redpolls and the orchard  held around 70 Fieldfares and 120 Redwings. The walk back up the hill proved very eventful when a Little Egret(68) flew over me heading ENE over the village. This is a great tick for me as it is only the fourth record in nineteen years.

On the 23rd I added a Coot(69) on my way to work and also saw a summer plumaged Little Grebe on the lake.

Popping in on my way home I saw a large raptor coming towards me from the north which I thoght was going to be one of the local buzzards but as it got nearer I could see it was a female Marsh Harrier(70)Brilliant!! The Coot had been joined by another and the Great crested Grebes had one egg on the nest.

The walk on Saturday started in orchard behind Tucks. On entering it I heard the song of the first Blackcap(71) of the spring.I wondered if it was a migrant or a bird which may have overwintered. The Chiffchaff s had increased to a total of six singing birds around the patch.

This morning was a bit of a non entity but the Grebes showed me that they had three eggs. Unfortunately I popped down to the lake this afternoon and the the nest had been destroyed by the strong winds. A sad end but there will be plenty of time to rebuild and raise a family.

This evening at seven o'clock there was a movement of gulls over the house with 13 Lesser black Backed and 23 Herring Gulls heading south.