Despite the cold winter, the good news is that most species that I saw last year are still here; some (like the figwort weevils – maybe that’s not such good news) are doing better than ever, and it’s certainly been a good season so far for the many kinds of solitary bee. Not sure about hedgehogs – I’ve seen some evidence of them around, but not actually spotted a hedgehog. Birds have been breeding as normal, and I’ve seen young dunnocks, great-tits, blackbirds and starlings – and speckled bush crickets. Here are just a few species I hadn’t seen before:
A Holly Blue butterfly with its wings open
And evidence that there are leafcutter bees somewhere near