Yesterday while walking on campus where I work, I had the surprise of my life - not only the sight of a butterfly but it was bright yellow (like acid yellow rather than canary) It made me stop to watch it - what a lovely sight. I suspected it was a Brimstone even though I'd never seen one before but it seems to match the best description and usual time of sighting (about early-mid March depending on the weather conditions - with the recent warm spell, an earlier sighting makes sense)
This was the second time I had spotted something at work which borders on to the River Trent / nature reserve - the day before as I got in the car with a colleague (I give him a lift home), we sat and watched a number of birds in the trees. We were trying to identify a small slender bird on a tree silhouetted against the evening sky (we weren't sure if it was a Woodpecker or a Nightingale) when 2 Song Thrushes landed on the grass verge right in front of the car with their very distinctive spotted chests. It was quite amazing - on both occasions I wish I had got my camera with me ...