Flower carpet

Today has been warm, sunny and most definitely spring-like!

For the first time this year we've had a good range of species in the moth trap, rather than an endless stream of Common Quakers.Insects are also emerging in the garden, though at the moment bee numbers seem significantly lower than last year, and worryingly I've hardly seen any ladybirds. A tawny mining-bee Andrena fulva was buzzing around near our small patch of limestone grassland. The female is bright ginger and furry, hence the name. This solitary bee nests in fairly compacted barish ground, so I'm hoping she might make a home in that area, which would seem suitable for her.

Empty cupboards necessitated a visit to Sainsbury's. While there I met a friend who's recently retired and is making the most of her newly found time to do lots of voluntary work with the Wildlife Trustr. She'd been up to Old Sulehay Forest yesterday and commented that the wood anemones were in full flower, sheets of them! So instead of working, Rosie and I sneaked off to havea look for ourselves.

The wood was looking absolutely stunning - white carpets of wood anemone as far as the eye could see, with other areas painted yellow with lesser celandines. I always think it's very difficult to capture these amazing wildflower vistas. The eye takes in everything and processes it as a whole, whereas the camera can only ever capture a small area. This shot gives an idea of the density of the wood anemones - other images of the wood can be seen here.

While I was wandering round I met one of the Trust's Reserve Officers, who was taking a few hours off to make the most of the warm sunshine and floral display. We chatted. We chatted about our observations - including my first sighting of an active common lizard this year. A shared interest in wildlife and the countryside always seems to make converstion easy :)