Thanks Mike. I'm trying to improve my bird photography but to be honest, it's a bit hit and miss
![Rolling Eyes :roll:](./images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif)
Nevertheless, I was quite pleased with these as it is only the second time I have seen Waxwings, so too good an opportunity to miss.
Now, back to the present - at least temporarily. Yesterday dawned grey and cold so I was surprised to see a Holly Blue fly across the garden at 8.30am and land on a bush:
With plans for a final visit to North Stoke the forecast was disappointing but we decided to press on, with precious few expectations of seeing anything at all. When we arrived there was no-one to be seen other than a single solitary dog walker but undeterred we began to scan foliage. The Red Admiral larva discovered by Vince earlier had disappeared, their leaves broken and black, so hopefully they had pupated but a GVW accidentally disturbed was unsurprisingly co-operative given the low temperatures:
Peacocks seemed to be the first to wake up and several of these were spotted early on together with a single Red Admiral which was cruising around and settled quite some distance away and fairly high up. However, it is only one of very few I have seen this season so I could not resist a shot:
By now it was warming up nicely to the point where we both had to strip off our top layers. Orange Tips and GVW were now plentiful and it was a delight to see and photograph a mating pair which was a first for me:
By now the wind had picked up considerably so attention turned to looking for OT eggs. Surprisingly, there did not seem to be many on the Cuckoo Flower but both orange and newly laid white eggs were eventually found:
Several Holly Blues patrolled the area intent on a mission which didn't include stopping for a photo shoot but at the end of the track several Speckled Wood were more amenable, all in nice condition, but however hard I try, my shots do not show it them as well as Neil's:
As lunchtime approached it was time to make tracks but just before we left a couple of Small Coppers were spotted, one particularly brightly coloured. Wurzel and others with sharp eyes will notice something sinister lurking in the background but I can assure viewers that no butterflies were harmed during the taking of these photos
The only sign of a Tortoiseshell we saw was a couple of very worn Small varieties:
Although we saw a total of 10 species which exceeded my expectations, the Brimstone was noticeable by its absence, not a single one having been seen in 2-3 hours.