Went to check on Cuckoo flowers in view of Bob's emails on topic -- I know his point was for more general availability of Orange Tips in the Borough, not just some elite collections -- but anyway there is a good showing of Cuckoo flowers near the pond area this year and several other spring flowers including Bugle, Greater and Lesser Stitchworts, Cowslip, Germander Speedwell, Comfrey and many others.

Cuckoo Flowers	Bugle	Cowslip
Comfrey	Was surprised to find in same area as Cuckoo flowers the Rusty Spring Trap flower. It was in an area of flattened Mole hills and could be that someone had been trapping moles for their skins? Was larger than mouse trap. Could explain the dead Shrews?

There were a dozen or more Orange Tips while I was there, very flighty, mainly male but a few female. Also Green-veined White, Holly Blue and Speckled Wood.

Orange Tip -- male	Orange Tip -- female	Speckled Wood

Other insects included Seven-spot Ladybirds, a 16-spot, several Hoverflies, including the Beefly, some flies including Bronze Tachinid flies, small wasps, Carder Bumble Bees, other bees and a delightful dancing troupe of metallic Green Longhorn Fairy day-flying moths enjoying the sunshine.

Holly Blue -- female	Beefly	Hoverfly
Green Longhorn Fairy day-flying moths (Adela reaumurella)

Afternoon is not a good time for seeing birds or mammals. Birds included the usual Magpies and Wood Pigeons. No raptors. An incessant Chiffchaff. Audio (good) and visual (bad) evidence of Pheasants -- the visual scattering of feathers also probably being evidence of Fox. Plenty of evidence of Rabbits.

Chiffchaff	Pheasant

Liz