Sucking nectar...

Another scorcher for March - 17.5C - and I spent the majority of the day wandering around Orton Pit in the blazing sun! Being so early in the year I forgot to take my sunglasses, so my eyes are feeling sore and itchy from the glare. I also managed to scald two of my fingers with steam as I was taking the lid off of a casserole dish just now, so typing's a bit stilted!

A group of volunteers went round the reserve with the warden, looking at the management that's been done over the last two years, and discussing plans for the future. It's a vast site, and used to be almost double the size before they built the new township of Hampton over it. Inbetween our ponderings we saw a good range of wildlife including peacock, small tortoiseshell and brimstone butterflies; common lizard and slow-worm; red kite, buzzard, yellowhammer and reed-bunting.

While everyone else was having lunch, Pete and I were enticed by a heavily blossoming sallow. He was waiting for solitary bees, and I took a series of photographs of the golden blossom against the bright blue sky, enhanced by the use of a a polarising filter.

I was just about to move on when this peacock butterfly came along and started nectaring on the sallow blossom. This had to be my blip - it emphasises the high value of sallow as a nectar and pollen source for a range of invertebrates, and is also one of the first butterflies I've photographed this year.

PS If you look in large you can see its tongue delving deep into the catkin.