Shocking Winter Atlas

Decided that today would be my Jan visit to the tetrad that I'm down for surveying. Must admit that I was a bit late on the scene for getting involved in the BTO and KOS winter atlas but I’ve just managed to grab one of the few remaining tetrads in the north west of Kent. A nice sunny but blustery winters day saw me stomping into the area with no real expectations except to record the common woodland and garden species found at the top of Wrotham Hill. So it was a real shock to suddenly see a Brimstone butterfly hurtling toward me, incredible to think that it had managed to survive the extreme cold weather of December but what a great flash of colour to light up the general winters gloom. The rest of the walk was generally uneventful except for a nice mobile flock of 290 Fieldfares and a further unexpected bonus in the shape of 3 waxwings giving frustratingly brief glimpses before they disappeared. Now I cannot wait for my February visit.