Spring catch up - Water Violets, Butterflies and Avocets in muddy ponds!

I can distinctly remember a certain weatherman saying about 3 weeks ago .. ' be patient, Spring will return!' Well I guess on the law of averages this was a pretty safe missive to put out to the long suffering British public because the warmth just has to come doesn't it? Better late than never I suppose, almost June and the longest day just weeks away but YES we have warmth in the air, and with it finally we have bees a buzzing and butterflies a fluttering in some numbers, why I even smelt a BBQ in the village this evening!

And to celebrate here's a few late Spring pics I've been meaning to post starting with some stunning Water Violets that have been pushing up through the water at Askham Bog over the past week or so

 

A true bogland speciality flower that does well at Askham and very pretty don't you think?

 

Somewhat under rated and also a flower that proliferates on the bog is Lady's Smock (sometimes known as the Cuckoo flower because it tends to bloom when these birds first arrive) .. they're also a favourite destination of Orange Tip Butterflies and I was lucky enough to capture both here.

 

 

Been stacks of other butterflies on the reserve including Speckled Woods, Brimstones, Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells and Commas. The Comma's often bask in the sun on the fence posts just like this one ...

  

......... but more often than not they're laid flat on in the undergrowth like this

 

 

 

Away from the bog, I had a pretty decent Adder experience on Hatfield Moor recently .... walking along the much improved tracks there I spotted this beastie and, risking a trip to Doncaster A & E, managed a half decent close up of this particularly fine looking specimen snaking towards me!

 

Maybe stupidly I tried to get closer for a head shot before beating a hasty retreat when I saw his tongue forking out, but I never felt threatened  (I'm a Yorkshireman for god's sake!) and anyway it was worth it for this shot.




Precious few bird shots of late but maybe this is evidence to the contrary, in my daughter's eyes at least, that I'm totally obsessed with our feathered friends ... hehe I AM Ruth! I can't let a post go by with at least a couple of bird pics, rubbish as they may be!


Here's one of only 2 Sedge Warblers that have returned to Askham Bog this year so far ... really disappointing but maybe this is a sign of the times.

















On a brighter note (though sadly this adjective does not apply very well to the photograph!), here's a couple of Avocets that plopped into a small pond adjacent to Fraisthorpe beach a couple of weeks ago as I was leaving .... it was very late on, about 8.30pm so the light wasn't great but awesome really as this was no more than a muddy pond in a farmer's field. Avocets are doing very well these days!