Still raining

It's still raining and has been nearly all month, as my little garden weather station can confirm.

Yesterday there was a bit of a respite, and I managed a half hour in relative sunshine. Butterflies also took advantage of the sun with good numbers of Orange-tip around, together with a few Small Tortoiseshell, 

Small Tortoiseshell

Peacock, a single Speckled Wood and a several Small White and Green-veined White.

Small White

Green-veined White

  These latter two butterflies can be   difficult to tell apart, especially if only the uppersides can be seen.  Green-veined White are actually very common and often mistaken for the better known Small White, despite the Green-veined being  the most widespread butterfly in the British Isles. The upperwing markings on both species are very variable. which does not help but the grey-black markings at the corner of the upperwing forewing of a Small White  do not extend down along the edge of the forewing  like in Green-veined and are continuous. 

The Green-veined White's markings are broken and go past half way down the wing. Also the veins of the Green-veined White are usually much more pronounced.













There has been a noticable increase in Blackap numbers the last few days with probably, like Chiffchaff, most of them now in territory, unlike the Willow Warblers where there would appear to be a lot still to arrive.

The flora continues to burst into flowers with Bird's-foot Trefoil and Hawthorn noted today.

Bird's-foot trefoil

Hawthorn