Another beautiful, cloudless sunny day with only a light breeze. Likely to be hotter than yesterday. Surprisingly though, fewer butterflies around. Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) still the most numerous, but Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) has reappeared in reasonable numbers. Like yesterday a few Peacock (Aglais io) and Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines) about too.

A Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) circled the northern part of the Downs, harried intermittently by a rather persistent crow. Both yesterday and today there has been a lot of Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) activity. This is mating and nest-building time for the jays and when they are perhaps at their noisiest. Once the female lays eggs in the nest the jays become very shy and retiring, also quiet. This will usually happen by the end of April.

A variety of insects and spiders were seen for the first time this year. An adult Hairy Shieldbug (Dolycoris baccarum) was found on a White Dead-nettle (Lamium album). Common Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) provided a female ichneumon wasp (Diphyus quadripunctorius) and a Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis). A Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) hosted a sac spider, possibly Clubiona brevipes, although while holding the leaf steady to take the photo it decided to relocate onto my hand. Two beetle species were located, a Common Sun Beetle (Amara aenea) on Green Alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens) and Raspberry Beetle (Byturus tomentosus) on Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus).

The flower buds on a few Common Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) are starting to open.

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