First butterfly recordings for 2014

Both a Comma (photo above) and Small Tortoiseshell on the wing earlier this week.

It's spring because........

there is a wild daffodil in flower in Margaret's Wood. Soon the hillside there will be covered in them.

Scarlet Elf Cup

I found this striking fungus on some dead wood in the forest near the Biggs Weir bridge. It is Scarlet Elf Cup (Sarcoscypha coccinea. It is reputed to be edible but looked like it might be a little chewy and it seemed a pity to remove it.