I initially started in Devon Pastures, and tried to photograph the green veined and small whites that were fluttering about by the pond - the riverside plants that the common blues and small coppers like aren't in bloom yet. As ever, whites of any kind are tricky to photograph, being very very twitchy and flighty, but I got a shot in the end.
I headed out into Hawton, and here was delighted to have my first close up view of an orange tip butterfly all year. I've been wondering where they are, perhaps forgetting to consider that although it feels like it has been spring for a good 6 weeks or more now, it's still early in the year.
Certainly last year, spring had only been going for a week by this time.
It may be they needed warmer temperatures, because in today's decent weather, there were a fair few about in their fabourite hedgerow habitat. And finally, I got to photograph one, something I've been failing to do for years.
Across to Farndon, and the wild garlic flowers are starting to emerge spikily in Willow Holt; soon the area of the holt next to the river will be white with them. Again lots of white butterflies around here, and like the bumblebees, they seem to prefer the flowering nettles as a source of food.
On the river itself, there wasn't a lot to be seen, but there were many herons out fishing, stabbing beaks poised motionless above the water, awaiting whatever migh be unwary beneath the water.
A weak sun began to lower in the west, but it had still been a better day than there's been for a little while.
 |
| Marsh marigold, devon pasture |
 |
| Lesser celandine, Devon Pasture |
 |
| Male small white, first flight, Devon Pasture |
 |
| Unknown, above the A46 bypass |
 |
| Orange tip male, near entrance to Willow Holt |
 |
| Wild garlic floweers, Willow Holt |
No comments:
Post a Comment