taking a break

This brimstone settled for long enough to be photographed. Despite the brilliant yellow appearance of the male when on the wing they look quite greenish when the wings are up.

Taking a breather (it wasn't that hot but motherhood is hard work)

humble bumble

Spring is really here when bumblebees are to be seen pollinating  green alkanet.

one of the crow family, that includes rooks, carrion crows, ravens and jackdaws,  that lives in the woods along the Tamar. It looks like a crow or a raven but in the bright morning sun appears to have a lot of grey on the underside of the wings and throat. The silhouette is typical of a raven, but both crows and ravens are meant to be a glossy black all over. Hooded crows have well defined grey markings but are confined to Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. Maybe it is just a trick of the bright light.

lbj's

We went in search of the green hairstreak butterfly today. We did not see a single butterfly of any sort, but there were lots of little brown jobs; this bird flew quite close to us for several minutes. It could be a willow warbler, a chiffchaff or a wood warbler. It had a sweet song which suggests it was a willow warbler freshly arrived from overseas, but it is notoriously difficult to tell one lbj from another. Unusually, the jay shown below flew towards us rather than away and displayed its very handsome blue chevrons.

the black paw gang

the black paw gang hanging out together and looking for trouble. Meanwhile the leaves are almost out.

siskins

this unusual looking bird is a juvenile siskin, the adults lack the mottled appearance on the head and breast feathers. Interestingly, it has been ringed for some reason.