Comma

A gorgeously mild and sunny day. I almost had the opportunity to go to Frampton Marsh with Chris, but a mid-morning Zoom meeting, planned ages ago, stymied that plan. After it was over I spent a little time in the garden, where I spotted this Comma butterfly basking in a sheltered corner. This is our third butterfly this week (the other two being Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell) but no sign of any Brimstones which are usually one of the first species to emerge from hibernation in spring.

After lunch Pete and I had a walk round Woodston Ponds NR, an urban reserve where I'm leading a walk next weekend. I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to show people - I'd been hoping to focus on bird song but it was generally very quiet, although we did come across a flock of Goldfinch and heard a distant Green Woodpecker. Hopefully, they will have been joined by the first Chiffchaffs next weekend!