Sunshine, Migrants & Butterflies

So after an initial trickle of early spring migrants across the UK, I was soon encountering a few myself locally, as March rolled on.

Chiffchaff numbers have slowly built up in most areas with 5+ singing at Grimsbury Res by mid-month. My first Little Ringed Plover of 2019 and in fact, my earliest ever, appeared on the evening of Tuesday 12/03 at Grimsbury Res. Yet again we get the 1st Oxon LRP of the year!

One of my earliest Wheatears appeared at Grimbo on 22/03, flicking around with Pied Wags! Finally, Sand Martins too have appeared several times with the first on 17/03.







At this time of year, my garden pond becomes a hive of activity, with lots of mating Common Frogs and the resulting hefty piles of frogspawn. Always a fab thing to see just outside the backdoor!







The recent mild weather and sunshine has really brought out lots of butterflies too - stark contrast to this time last year!