Frogspawn, Catherington Pond

Catherington Pond is our nearest wetland - it sits on the opposite side of the road to the entrance to Catherington Down SSSI - and as importantly Ca. 100m up the road from The Farmer Inn.

A thoughtful barman at The Farmer Inn, once served me a pint of Gales H.S.B. straight from the barrel so I didn't have to wait whilst it was pulled through the pipes - a simple joy, and a memorable one.

The pond is maintained by the Horndean Parish Council Rangers. This frog (Rana temporaria) record is only my second amphibian record for the site. The first being of smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris) dated 30th May 2017.

Adder (Vipera berus L.) my first sighting of the year

Enjoyed my first sighting of adder this year whilst surveying on chalk grassland in West Sussex. Three individual snakes were found basking on the day. N.B. that these record shots are taken on full zoom on the iPhone camera.