Lockdown Diary: Tuesday 7.4.20

Last night’s garden night sound session was disappointing (noisy partying neighbours, would you believe?), with only gulls heard (plus a single Fox bark). So on this morning’s exercise cycle through Ferry Meadows CP I felt I needed some birdy compensation. I saw/heard about 50 species as usual, with the undoubted highlight being my first singing Willow Warbler of the year. The sweet, descending whistled warble is a favourite song of former BW editor Kevin Wilmot (remember him?) and you can understand why: it is a delight on the ears! What a shame, the population of Willow Warblers has declined so much in recent years.
The weather was a bit too clear, sunny and still (with a morning frost) to be good for delivering passage birds, today. But there was still plenty of lovely bird song. The best sound for me was a drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker. And the visual highlight was a Long-tailed Tit gathering feathers bigger than its head to line its nest!

Orange-tip, our Peterborough garden (7.4.20)

Working at home post script: I just looked out of my office [kitchen] window and saw a pale butterfly flying past. It didn’t look like a Brimstone (the adults of which hibernate, so are early on the wing), so I grabbed my bins and dashed out. It turned out to be my favourite of all British butterflies, a male Orange-tip (my first of the year). And best of all, it stopped to sunbathe, wings open. So, I ran indoors, grabbed the camera and got this shot, with which I am pleased.
Then a Speckled Wood also arrived.

Speckled Wood, our Peterborough garden (7.4.20)