Thanks
Wurzel. My week off is going better than expected, mainly thanks to the inaccurate weather forecasts for once going in my favour
Thanks
David , Thankfully my personal barren period recently ended, whether that will continue remains to be seen!
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March 2021
Well my week off started on Saturday the
20th, a day with dull grey skies as far as the eye could see, I didn’t leave the flat…
Sunday the
21st was slightly better, a few breaks in the coudy blanket tempted me out to Epping Forest. No butterflies were seen but I did spend a bit of time stalking a pair of Muntjac, from the looks on their faces I’m confident I was spotted! Most of the birds remained out of sight but I managed a very quick record shot of a Green Woodpecker before it buggered off as they always do. The Crow was flying of with the remains of a frog for Sunday lunch whilst in a nearby pond, hoards of Toads were busy making thousands of baby Toads.
The following day,
Monday the 22nd was forecast to be similar, mostly cloud with patches of blue sky. It was woefully inaccurate but for once it was in my favour. It was still a bit early to see anything on Walthamstow Marshes but couldn’t resist a Robin posing for me.
It was Tottenham Marshes I was heading for though and with the forecast predicting the blanket of cloud to return by noon, I kept one eye on the sky all the way along the canal. I needn’t have worried though, instead of the cloud returning, it had pretty much vanished by mid-afternoon and with the sun, the butterflies responded
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
. The first was a Peacock taking moisture from the damp ground, probably re-hydrating after its long winter sleep. Some more searching found a few more taking sustenance from more traditional fare.
Comma’s started to turn up after this, staking out the usual sheltered sun traps I regularly find them.
During my ramblings I also disturbed a couple of Small Tortoiseshells but neither wanted to settle for a picture and I had flybys from at least three Brimstone. All in all I managed 15 butterflies here
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
.
I returned to Walthamstow Marshes high on expectation that they would be similarly abounding (relatively speaking) with butterflies but only managed to scrape up to nine, mostly flybys. No Small Tortoiseshells were seen but there was a surprise Small White appearance. Sadly he didn’t settle and there were to many people around to try for an in flight record shot.
Whilst taking pics of one of the Peacocks I noticed some Long-tailed Tits fussing around in the hedge in front of me, closer examination found one of their incredible nests and standing back a bit I was able to watch them flying back and forth as they added bits and pieces to it. City birds are quite accustomed to humans, as long as you don't go poking around. In the countryside I would never have attempted to stick around to try and get photos at such close range.
![22.3.21 #3.png (1.71 MiB) Viewed 1570 times Cormorant, Long-tailed Tit, Long-tailed Tit at nest, Chiffchaff](./files/thumb_13753_0d82e4d752297c5e38c68048ebc34903)
- Cormorant, Long-tailed Tit, Long-tailed Tit at nest, Chiffchaff
After a bit of a stop start spring, I’m glad to have finally got a decent day from 2021
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
.