My first walk around my local patch in several months, for one reason and another.

My first butterflies of the year were a peacock and a couple of small tortoiseshells. I spent some time looking at bees and will write more about that later, possibly elsewhere.

In terms of birds, the most exciting was a distant Ivory-billed Woodpecker, whuch as I got closer turned into a Carrion Crow. Amazing what catching the sun just so can do.

Spring arrivals included Swallows, Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs, in great numbers around the Sands Lake, which was also home to a pair of Gadwall. Expecting Blackcap, I was disappointed until nearly home, when a male popped up amongst the scrub at the end of Chipping Avenue.

Other birds on the dunes included Wheatear, Skylark and Meadow Pipit, of course, and I would feel I had done a much better job of birding if I had identified the small finches just south of the Discovery centre. Probably Linnets, but I thought I caught a flash of yellow.