Dundee City

The Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io) is amongst the first butterflies to emerge, still, I was surprised to find one sunning itself on my doorstep this morning!
After a period of such unusually cold, harsh weather, it seems odd that it would stir so early from its winter slumber. I took the insect indoors and fed it on chopped apple/sugar solution, letting it fly around indoors for a few weeks.

When opening its wings to display the startling eye-spots, it can rub its wings together to make a hissing noise, before quickly closing its wings again.

The undersides of the Peacock's wings are an exquisite velvet tapestry of scales: metallically marbled with inky-blue black, spangled with flecks of orange and yellow and exotically tiger-striped.

Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io)

Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io)

Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io)

Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io)

Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io)

Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io)

Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io)

Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io)

Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io)

Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io)

The Peacock Butterfly normally emerges from hibernation from late March/April and the velvety-black, spiny larvae feed predominantly on Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica).

The Peacock's scientific name 'Inachis io' refers to the Greek river god Inachus and to his daughter Io (a priestess of Hera in Argos). Hera set the all-seeing and many-eyed giant Argus Panoptes to watch over Io and prevent her seduction by Zeus (a task at which Argus fails).

Kilpatrick Hills, West Dunbartonshire

Another walk in the hills - this time from Overton House, past the Lang Craigs, the Black Linn and the Humphrey Reservoir.

The Overton Woods were rich in birdlife: I saw a female Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula), a Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), a Redwing (Turdus iliacus), a Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris), and a nearly trodden-on Snipe (Gallinago gallinago). Further on, I spotted a pair of Treecreepers (Certhia familiaris) and a pair of Goldcrests (Regulus regulus).

Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris)

Goldcrest (Regulus regulus)

The Goldcrest is a miniscule warbler: alongside the closely-related Firecrest, it's the smallest species of bird in the UK, weighing 5-7g (for comparison, a 10p coin is 6.5g).

These charming little birds are often overlooked - I usually spot them if I'm sitting still, scanning the foliage carefully with binocs. They are superbly camouflaged and it's only their constant darting movements and a flash of gold, that gives them away.

The Goldcrest's scientific name Regulus regulus is latin for 'little king', referring to its golden crown.

Some years ago, as a child, I found a dead Goldcrest in the back garden and was able to see up close the shocking orange of the male's crest. I took some feathers for my collection and will add a link here once I get round to photographing them.

Lang Craigs

Sheep were walking about on top of the frozen-solid Humphrey Reservoir. I found Otter (Lutra lutra) tracks in the snow at the edge of the Humphrey - the tracks indicated a bounding gait and showed tail-drag. Local fishermen have mentioned seeing Otters here.

At the Black Linn, spiky ice crystals had formed on the snow and glittered colourfully like tinsel.

I descended the hills and entered the fog, which coated my clothes and hair with silvery frost. The temperature was around -10 degrees centigrade.