Yes Mark, there has been a short hiatus in sightings, but luckiy not too long.
There is still a constant stream of planes, David, but at considerable intervals instead of every 30 seconds! Quite a bit of cargo being carried I suspect.
Cheers, Old Wolf - Orange Tips are now well and truly underway, and should start appearing everywhere this week with the weather looking pretty good.
Thursday April 2nd. After a few chilly days, the 2nd was a bit warmer, and in a burst of morning sunshine I ventured out and manged to see a handful of butterflies: Brimstone 2; Small White 1; Peacock 2; Comma 1.
Friday April 3rd was cooler again, but there was actually more sunshine. Only a small number of sightings, all later in the day: Small White 1; Peacock 1; Comma 3.
Saturday 4th April, however, saw the arrival of the promised spell of warm sunny weather. Early mist and low cloud cleared by midday and into the afternoon, it had become pleasantly warm (probably up to 17 degrees). The butterflies responded as expected, and over the length of my local circuit (slightly extended I have to admit) I counted around 80 butterflies of seven species.
The newcomer today was the Speckled Wood.
Numbers of Small Whites and Orange Tips were beginning to rise, Peacocks were everywhere, and with the increase in temperature, Brimstones were also frequent and were flying into early afternoon today.
Commas were common, and I spotted a female investigating nettles and probably laying.
![Comma2 040420.JPG (3.11 MiB) Viewed 458 times pausing for a rest](./files/thumb_9839_548de0757ec1c9e57002619db50218bc)
- pausing for a rest
More worryingly, there were still only a few Small Tortoiseshells, and (I never thought I'd be saying this) I am still waiting for my first Holly Blue.
Highlights today included a mating pair of Small Whites...
...and watching Orange Tips begin to settle down for the evening.
An excellent day - and this is only the start of the fine spell.
Dave