Home-grown

Back home and we have been welcomed back with plenty of bad weather.  Cooler than usual and wetter than we would have liked, things have not been good for walking since our return.  However, we haven't had to stray too far from home to get some good wildlife views, starting with the spectacular red Hawthorn tree outside our house.

Covered in double, red flowers the hawthorn seems to be more spectacular than usual.
In the Back garden, I spotted a species yesterday, which turned out to be another new 'tick' for my life list. Clinging to a conifer, this yellow insect is a Brimstone Moth.

We are familiar with Brimstone Butterflies which appear very early in the year to herald Spring, but a Brimstone Moth was something new to me.
The Hawthorn I mentioned above, is host to many birds - particularly as we have a fat-ball feeder there. Right now, we have lots of newly-fledged birds including Starlings and these, extremely cute baby House Sparrows.

Easily identified as youngsters by their still-visible yellow gape, they are still accepting food from their parents, despite being well capable of feeding themselves.