I discovered this lovely place this afternoon. It has lots of potential and I am sure that regular visits will give me some good sightings. As the crow flies it is only a short distance from my house so I will be able to call in and check it out regularly. As you can see it is a very well established, if not ancient woodland with lots of dead trees and not too overgrown. Today when I sat quietly I heard lots of birds including Wrens and Warblers but it was quite hard to get too close. I took this photo of a White Butterfly species which is beginning to annoy me as it does not fit in to any of the photos or descriptions of butterflies that I have seen before. I am sure that it is just either a Small White or a female Orange Tip , my money being on the former! (Update: ……. I have this butterfly confirmed as a Green Veined White. Quote from WAB>-" A male Green-veined White, the males of the first brood show little spotting on the wing + the black on the outer edge of the wing extends further down than is Small white" )

 

It is the absence of a white spot on the upper wing that doesn't fit any of the descriptions of butterflies in all of my books and guides. I can see just faint spots so perhaps that is usual for small whit at this time of the year. If you are an entomologist perhaps you can help me out?
There were a few very interesting and obviously well used woodpecker holes and I am pretty sure that this one is in use this year and I will be back to check for sure. You can see where the bird has almost carved a nice

 symmetrical hole.