Alongside the Thames, the warblers have returned from their winter migration to Africa and are now in full song, including this blackcap lurking in a willow tree, it seems to have a browner cap, which could make it a female:
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Blackcaps aren't the only warbler, unfortunately a lot of them look the same, but at a guess this may be a willow warbler:
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As mentioned in a previous spring post, the orange tips are in full flight and taking a photograph of a male is very hard as never seem to settle. Unlike the females whilst they do settle are harder to identify - as they don't have orange tips:
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Butterflies aren't the only insect to emerge from hibernation, this queen buff tailed bumblebee is seeking out a nest site:
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And whilst red kites can now be seen all year round (it was only a few years ago when they couldn't be seen at all) the bare leaves of spring mean they too can be viewed seeking out nest sites, like this one on the Ock Valley Walk:
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Terrific photos, especially of the queen bumble bee! We have a similar butterfly in the midwestern US, the falcate orangetip. I assume they're related.
ReplyDeleteHi Richard,
ReplyDeleteDid you see this in yesterday's Daily Mail? Good to see them promoting water voles (even though it's not my favourite paper!)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1379071/Water-voles-One-Britains-endangered-species-play.html
Hope this link works.
Rachel M
Hi Anne,
ReplyDeleteI've done some research and yes, taxonmically speaking, our orange tips are related to your falcate orangetip (they both belong to the genus Anthocharis).
I don't know if they share a common ancestor or have evolved separately to fill the same ecological niche
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for that fantastic link. I'm a huge fan of Terry Whittaker's water vole pictures (there is a link to his blog on the right), somehow it is not surprising he spends up to 8 hours taking pictures.
I will add it to a future post.
Thanks
Richard.