Yippee: Some Unexpected Sunshine

We had not intended to venture forth but a Burst of Sunshine prompted us to hoof it to Bostall Heath (the Royal Borough of Greenwich) in the hopes of a Bee or something: well, anything really. And Wow: we weren't expecting a Butterfly so were super-pleased to see a Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly visiting Red Dead-Nettle viz.

A few Bees were busying themselves viz. a Buff-Tailed Bumblebee, a few Hairy-Footed Flower Bees and a Red-Tailed Bumblebee viz.

Also, a few Honey Bees.

Bee' Records have been submitted to iRecord viz. … https://www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/ …

We saw a couple of Hoverflies: one evaded being identified but another, an Episyrphus balteatus, posed for the Camera on Groundsel viz.

It is still of course a little early for Wild Flowers but we spotted a favourite of ours viz. Ivy-Leaved Speedwell:

The recent Rain seems to have done the flowering Red Dead-Nettles a power of Good.

Also flowering: Common Chickweed, Common Whitlowgrass, Coral Spurge (a small but growing population mentioned in Kent Botany 2016), a few Dandelions, Groundsel, and assumed Wavy Bittercress.

Lots of Gorse flowering, some Broom flowering and some pretty Spring Blossom too.

We also noticed Bluebells (not of course flowering but if memory serves, the Hybrid Version), Common Ragwort, Lesser Celandine and Wood Sage.

We didn't look for the Balkan Spurge, Bush Vetch or Caper Spurge but when last seen all three were doing well. That being said, the Balkan Spurge is getting covered by Brambles (we must go back to do some clearing).