Kirkstall and Adel findings

First port of call today was Weetwood Police Station, not as a result of any wrong-doing but to check out the carpets of Anmone nemorosa in the car park, the masses of beautiful pink tinged petals reach skywards on delicate stems, casting star shaped shadows on the foliage below. The shape and colour reminds me of a Clematis montana flower.

Then over to Adel Churchyard, full of daffodils in bloom, thinking it might be a good spot to spy butterflies the only sightings were two white species on the wing, and they never ever seem to rest. A couple of Song Thrush were feeding, this one had its mouthful while the other continued to pull worms from the grassed paths. Elsewhere we spotted a Nuthatch, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Long Tailed Tit, Blackbird and a female Mallard.

Venturing on, we spotted 8 Lapwing, one with 3 chicks, 7 Curlew, a Kestrel, a Hare, an inconspicuous Small Tortoiseshell, 2 Red Kites and a Skylark that obligingly provided the soundtrack to our wanderings.

We headed home ready for a cup of tea and a Betty's Fat Rascal. On reaching the doorstep something caught my eye, a Speckled Wood butterfly landed on the yellow leaves of Choisya ternata, Mexican Orange Blossom. A wonderful characteristic of a Speckled Wood is that they'll perch and pause just long enough to get a couple of pics and it kindly presented me with my first garden butterfly ID of the year.