As my search for birds was very quiet I was really pleasantly surprised to stumble upon 2 Stoats near to Swan Lake one of which stood up squealing facing me less than 20 yards away in some grass, the other seen some 50 yards away bounding through short grass.
Typically as I lifted my camera the one stood up bolted.
Windy conditions on my walk today, the large rough grassland adjacent to the Bus Route (Colliers Wood area) contained numerous bee orchid amongst the marsh, also here my first record of ringlet butterflies in this locality - lots of them too
A Weasel was in Central Park this morning. I was surprised to see it in there, seemed quite an urban site, albeit the park is fairly large and close to allotments and a cemetery. I wondered whether it had been displaced by large earthworks on the development site just downhill at Bee Fold Lane
Brimstone, orange tip, peacock and tortoiseshell butterflies in evidence this PM. Also four or five gorse shieldbugs on a large bush of the same near the Coolin Lane bus route stretch
Don't wish to doubt your i.d. skills, but phoenix does not fly until July-August: you have probably caught small phoenix. Also red carpet is not on the wing until mid-June and, unless you were trapping in moorland, you would not get them in the garden, for instance. For this species I would suggest flame carpet. I apologise if I am intruding with these observations.
