Osmunda rising

More stirrings in the fernery as Osmunda regalis (the Royal Fern) starts to unfurl in the early morning light.

A fairly quiet day on the butterfly front with visits from holly Blue, Orange Tip, Speckled Wood and Large White. On the afternoon walk with the spaniel things hotted up and we saw our first Small Heath of the year, bringing our species count to 12. My first sightings records now go back over a decade and help me to predict the next sighting which should be Common Blue or Small Copper (normally it would be Grizzled Skipper but I only see them on the Downs).