Spring and no coat !

So great to be outside with no coat on this lovely spring morning.The sun was welcome and the birds were very loud! The geese give the impression that they need to honk louder and louder to be heard.

The willows are cascading green on the lake bank and the catkins are golden yellow.

Walking along a main path I caught a movement from the corner of my eye, a muntjac deer was foraging in the scrubby woodland.

This is only a tiny video clip but it also shows the days soundtrack, so many birds!

This walk was full of interest , I saw my first Brimstone butterfly of the year, I usually write this yearly marker in my diary. The Brimstone was obvious from a long way off against the bare branches looking like a flapping yellow bird.

Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) hibernates through the cold weather and can seen again on warm days.it is thought that the yellow colour of the brimstone’s wings inspired the term ‘butterfly’.

The larvae feed on Buckthorn and Alder Buckthorn. They are most common in hedgerows, open woods and scrubby land.They lay single eggs on the underside of leaves which hatch in 10 days. The caterpillars are green and lay along side the midrib of the leaf. These caterpillars are heavily predated by birds such as blue tits. The remaining caterpillars change into Green chrysalis which are very well camouflaged. The adults emerge after 10-14 days.

The trees continue to burst their buds.

Up the trunks of these trees my favourite snails (banded) are climbing again!

All along this walk the birds were singing and flitting constantly from tree to tree, groups of long tailed tits, blue tits , great tits and many more. No sign of the great spotted woodpeckers today but evidence of there work on the trees and they were drumming loudly.

I walked quietly to the edge of a small lake to watch this Heron.

This walk was full of energy and activity , big bumble bees were moving through the grass and there were insects flying.Flowers are blooming, colour is returning .