Yesterday went to Rainham Marshes RSPB, mainly for birds, but did expect some insects in the unseasonally warm sunshine. A Red Admiral & a Small White on the reserve & on the way back a Holly Blue on ivy flowers at nearby Purfleet Station-my latest ever.

2 Red Admirals feasting on open-type Chrysanthemum flowers at RHS Wisley.

I managed a Red Admiral (possibly 2 different individuals) & a Speckled Wood (possibly my latest ever?) in Osterley Park gardens yesterday.

Certainly a Crimson Speckled, Zig-zag. There is an unprecedented number turning up over recent days. The only UK sighting I've had was on Scilly some years back. Some amazing migrant moths turning up at the moment including a couple new to the UK. Also saw a report this morning of a Lang's Short-tai...

Yesterday a fairly fresh Painted Lady visiting Cosmos flowers in the gardens of Fulham Palace as well as a more expected Red Admiral.

Yesterday Red Admiral, at least 2 Small Whites & Hummingbird Hawkmoth at RHS Hyde Hall gardens, Essex.

From top

1 Female Copper Demoiselle
2 Male Copper Demoiselle
3 Male Broad Scarlet
4 Male Keeled Skimmer
5 Keeled Skimmer
6 Female Broad Scarlet.

Agree Small Red-eyed. Certainly around London, Willow Emerald is FAR more common than the now poorly named Common Emerald. Virtually disappeared from Middx, where Willow is widespread now.

That's a good number of Queens. Doesn't seem to be restricted to Field Pansy though as a larval food plant though, with some other Viola species mentioned in the literature including V. tricolor, V. hirta & V. odorata. One source also mentions Lucerne.

Popped into the garden centre at Osterley yesterday morning & delighted to see a fairly fresh Small Copper sitting on some deep red Astrantia flowers & seemed to enjoy visiting other flowers of this plant.

Also seeing more Small Coppers locally. Yesterday I was leading a walk for the London Natural History Society at Ruislip Lido/Woods. We had in the warming sun (cool early on!) 3 Small Copper, Red Admiral, 6 Speckled Wood, Green-veined White, 2 distant Small/Green-veined Whites & a Water Veneer m...

Leucozona glaucia for the hoverfly- a pretty smart one! A female.

Think you should have started a new thread with these as it's lost in a Hummingbird Hawkmoth ID query! Anyway from top: 1 & 3 Black Darter 2 Common Darter 4 Sericomyia silentis 5 ovipositing Common Hawker 6 Episyrphus balteatus -Marmalade Fly 7 Scaeva pyrastri- a migrant species of hoverfly 8 Sy...

David, Red Kites are certainly pretty numerous in many parts of the south-east these days. Where I live in the western London suburbs it's an everyday bird & have seen over 20 on a couple of occasions.

Agree, Red Underwing.

Lovely photos of some stunning butterflies.

Medard, your queen Bombus terrestris has what are known as phoretic mites. These are relatively harmless to the bee, though this is a heavy load. Some drop off on flowers & attach to other bees. Nice shot of the Hornet Hoverfly, Volucella zonaria, too-our largest hoverfly whose eggs are laid in ...

I would concur with David.

Great Cormorant is the same common species we have here in the UK, so no doubt you've seen them before. I did a boat trip on Lake Kerkini back in early May & the numbers of birds were incredible. Unfortunately the Dalmatian Pelicans there & throughout the Balkans have lost c40% of the popula...

Looks fine to me.