Swapped Wednesday for Tuesday and got to catch up with Mark, CP and GT et al, but the overcast sky was a 'buzz-kill'; on the bright side the near-zero wind made it the most comfortable day for a while. First Common Whitethroat of the year was singing adjacent to Westmead and Lesser W's were at the hanger and zig-zag. Long-tailed Tits were nest building although one finished nest elsewhere seemed intact but abandoned. No migrant waders other than three Dunlin seen by ARK. The first Nightingale of the year refused to pop out, sing or even call whilst I stood at the hanger but kicked off again after I'd left. No butterflies and precious little other flyers; on the heath Honey Bees were well laden and inspecting Bluebells and Gorse, Lassioglossums were on Dandelions on the tea terrace along with a single Tree Bee and a Sphecodes was dashing around the scraped area adjacent to the 'bee path'.

 A brief stop at Coldwaltham was fruitless.

Today at TH a few more Sedge W including song-flighting birds - this one below a massive crop from the macro lens. Fifteen Curlews 'bubbled' as they headed north-east. The male Marsh Harrier was active and still collecting reeds. A Holly Blue was perched up trying to warm in the early sun and various bees, Lasioglossums, Bombus, Andrena spp (at least cineraria, fulva, flavipes) with attendant Nomada goodeniana. First Myathropa florea of the year and a 'white-bummed' Eristalis intricaria.

Back home this mating pair of Melecta albifrons on a pieris were joined by a third, not good news for the local flower bees as these are a parasites of them.

Melecta albifrons

Songflighting Sedge