We saw our first butterfly of the year this morning, an immaculate brimstone, flying in the sun alongside the Oxholme Drain, on the east side of Drayton Lagoon. Not long afterwards, there was a very ragged comma butterfly flying over Holywell Ferry Road. Great tits, chaffinches and goldfinches seemed to be singing everywhere; four different Cett's warbler, several dunnocks, wrens and robins were singing too. A male stonechat was near the cycle racks in the Holywell Lake car park.
Volunteers and wardens cleared rank vegetation from islands at the north end of Moore Lake yesterday, to encourage ground-nesting birds (such as lapwings, oystercatchers, ducks, geese and swans) to nest on them. One pair of swans looked to be making themselves at home this morning, while a number of ducks seemed to appreciate being able to get out of the water and bask in the sun.
We met one of the volunteers, who had seen a pair of smews in the south-west corner of Elney Lake - they're staying late this year.