It’s Easter Saturday and the thermometer is reading 27 degrees C, it’s a really beatiful day. Yesterday was the same and blossom is well underway on my apple tree, and maybe at least partially as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown my garden is being frequented by a stream of butterflies. Which makes me very happy! Some of them such as the comma (Polygonia c-album) and the holly blue (Celastrina argiolus) are regular visitors at this time of year:
Comma
Holly Blue
But there have been a couple of first sightings, both yesterday, which was great to see; the brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) and the orange tip (Anthocharis cardamines):
Brimstone
Orange tip
I love orange tips but they’re really tough to track and photograph because they seldom settle. But when they eventually do settle and close their wings the underside has the most exquisite green lacework which also functions as perfect camouflage, they’re virtually invisible when they sit tight and don’t move.
One other treat I’ve had whilst working from home during the Covid-19 lockdown is my resident wren who appears just outside the window at least once a day and just occasionally sings his heart out. It’s amazing how so much lovely song emanates from such a tiny bird, and at such high volume! I’ll try to get some wren pictures in the next few days and post them here.
In the mean time have a lovely Easter weekend and stay home and stay safe!
The Naturephile 
Hey, Finn, it’s wonderful to see you here again. It’s been about a year, by my reckoning, and that’s too long. I’ve missed you. I hope all is well and, from your post, it appears so. We had a pair of wrens that adopted us in Omaha before we moved, and I can still hear their joyous, bubbling songs–truly inspirational. Welcome back.
Hello Gary, great to hear from you! I’m very pleased with myself for getting another post out at last 🙂 I’m going to try to keep going but my life has taken a mad turn in the last 6 months so fingers crossed I can stick to my plan. It’s a beautiful springtime herre so I hope to get out and take more images to post, Covid-19 permitting! Isn’t wren song just lovely.
I hope your “mad” turn turn wasn’t one for the worse and that you’ll really be well able to keep going and get out as you’ve planned. How’s your isolation situation over there? If it’s as strict as it is here and starts to get you down, there are always the archives to come to the rescue. I’ve found myself digging up a few nice buried treasures.
The mad turn is still spinning but things are resolving themselves, I have a new job which is 160 miles away from home, which has made for a few radical life changes. And the lockdown thing is really strange, it is strict here, but it’s lovely having time with the kids too, so swings and rondabouts. I’ve been trawling my archive as well as taking new images, I was out on a local fen today and it was a gorgeous walk on a warm sunny day and I got a few shots that I’ll try to post soon. And in the mean time I shall dive over to Krikitarts to have a closer look at what you’ve been up to.