Friday 25 March 2011

First Garden Flutter.

During a break while gardening this week I had the first garden visit this year from a Peacock butterfly. Not a pristine individual as you can see from the wear on the wing so undoubtedly one that had overwintered somewhere. It spent a while enjoying the blossom on the flowering Cherry (Prunus) before moving on.

 Peacock (Inachis io)


Blue Tit Update: Our garden pair continue to build inside the nest box with very frequent deliveries of varied materials. I have a few shots in the can so will post an update very soon.

Wishing everyone a glorious wildlife watching weekend, wherever you are.  FAB.
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26 comments:

  1. Lois Evensen25 March 2011 at 16:06

    Very nice. Yes, the wild life is providing so many photo ops now. Wonderful!

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  2. Kelly25 March 2011 at 16:24

    ...ohh...I love lose tattered wings, and you've captured him so beautifully. I finally saw my first butterfly of the year (I had to go to Florida to see it though!). Inches of snow are moving in tonight they say, so winter is still with us. So happy to hear you're already out gardening...another month or two, and it will be our turn!

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  3. KaHolly25 March 2011 at 17:00

    Tattered but absolutely gorgeous!! I have been enjoying the butterflies here in TX this spring. Such a wider variety than we have in the northeast.

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  4. Mike B.25 March 2011 at 17:44

    Gorgeous butterfly. I love the angry face from its eyespots.

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  5. Warren Baker25 March 2011 at 18:02

    its all started to kick off now frank :-)

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  6. Hilke Breder25 March 2011 at 18:30

    Eye-popping colors! Just beautiful! We have neither blossoms nor butterflies yet :-(

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  7. Montanagirl25 March 2011 at 18:57

    No butterflies here yet for quite some time! Beautiful shot.

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  8. Julie G.25 March 2011 at 20:31

    Oh so very lovely! A little tattered, but no less beautiful. Stunning colors, pattern and detail! A burst of sunshine on a cold day here in Chicago. Thanks for sharing!

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  9. Carol Mattingly25 March 2011 at 20:47

    No butterfly sightings as yet. Just wasps. Love the pink in the dots. Carol

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  10. FAB25 March 2011 at 21:45

    Yes Lois, everything is starting to make itself available for the lens.

    Hi Kelly. I guess you have to pay for your pleasures with snow again after all that lovely southern sunshine! The garden jobs seem endless but at least it was T-shirt weather for a while.

    Hi Karen. The species definitely get more exotic the closer you get to the equator.

    Hi Mike B. A warning to any predator.

    Definitely has Warren. Have a good patch weekend.

    Hi Hilke and Mona. Thanks. Your turns will come.

    Hi Julie G. Amazing what a little drop of sunshine will do to bring the colours out to play.

    Hi Carol. Plenty of bees and other insects have been buzzing around here today.

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  11. Dawn Fine25 March 2011 at 22:22

    Beautiful Butterfly!

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  12. grammie g25 March 2011 at 23:00

    HI Frank... oh so jealous am I,but my time is coming and worth the wait!!
    Real beauty you have there!!

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  13. FAB25 March 2011 at 23:47

    Thanks Dawn.

    Hi Grammie. Waiting is all part of the game.

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  14. Beatrice P. Boyd26 March 2011 at 01:13

    Hi Frank, sorry I've missed reading your posts for awhile, so tonight was a catch-up time for me. I am envious that you already have butterflies as I have not seen a single one yet in our VA eastern shore backyard, but they will be here as soon as the wildflower patches we planted last year are in full bloom by late summer. The photo series on the Blut Tits was very interesting to see. Again, I have never seen any here and the closest may be bluebirds(?) I'll be back more again on a more regular basis.

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  15. Red26 March 2011 at 03:09

    Always look forward to your brilliant butterfly photos.
    Really amazing how much further advanced your season is. We haven't even got a smeel of spring. We've had seven days of snow with about 30 cm total.

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  16. Matt Latham26 March 2011 at 10:08

    Lovely Frank; good to see spring is on its way back

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  17. Sarah Knight26 March 2011 at 12:06

    Beautiful shots!

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  18. ShySongbird26 March 2011 at 18:39

    Lovely! I have seen Brimstones and Small Tortoiseshells in the last few days but no Peacocks so far.

    Lovely shots of the Blue Tits nesting on the previous post Frank!

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  19. Mary Howell Cromer26 March 2011 at 21:51

    What a lovely spring visitor Frank...I had no idea that they wintered over, so I have thus, learned something new today...I quite like that. Take care~

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  20. Jann27 March 2011 at 05:01

    FABulous shots, such a pretty butterfly! As I told Warren, I'm jealous of your spring...3-4" of snow here yesterday and the local landscape is still dead.

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  21. JRandSue27 March 2011 at 12:00

    Amazing images Frank,you've captured the colours spot on.
    Superb.
    John.

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  22. FAB27 March 2011 at 13:42

    Hi Beatrice. Nice to hear from you. I also have difficulty keeping up with everyone else so no apologies required. The flutters will love your wildflower patches.
    The closest species to our Blue Tits would be your Chickadees and Titmice (family Paridae).

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  23. FAB27 March 2011 at 18:28

    Cheers Red. It may be a little while before the next coloured wings appear in the garden but I'll keep looking. I don't envy you the days of snow but we may have to cope with a few frosty days in the coming weeks!

    Thanks Matt. Hopefully the next month should provide some interesting opportunities for the lens.

    Thank you Sarah.

    HI Jan I'm still waiting for a sighting of a Small Tortoishell and even the more usual Comma.
    More pics of the Blue Tit activity coming up soon.

    Hi Mary. It was totally unexpected and provided a few very colourful minutes as I waited for action at the nest box.

    Hi Jann E. Thanks. I can fully understand your frustration ... hopefully it won't be too long before everything wakes up for you.

    Hi JRandSue. Cheers John.

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  24. Midmarsh John28 March 2011 at 09:11

    Lovely photos of the flutter. The one I had in my garden also showed signs of wear and tear. I have also seen one large white and one Brimstone so far.

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  25. Roy28 March 2011 at 13:14

    Very nice Peacock shots Frank. You should soon be seeing more shortly.

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  26. FAB28 March 2011 at 21:28

    Cheers John. We may have to wait a while to see a pristine version.

    Thanks Roy. I certanly hope so.

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I hope you enjoyed your visit and I always appreciate your comments and feedback.

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