February fill-dyke certainly lived up to its old country name but the transition from winter into spring was quite sudden this year.

Glorious sunshine greeted the first day of spring in complete contrast to the icy-dull wet weather of the previous few weeks.

Indeed, the day was briefly mild enough for a comma butterfly to wake and I also watched a red admiral alight most appropriately on a large clump of snowdrops to imbibe its first drink of nectar.

Bees love snowdrops but because of its construction, it is most unusual for a butterfly to seek them out.

However, as many wild flowers were late blooming due to the cold winter, snowdrops were no doubt one of the few options available.

Until about 30 years ago it was thought that few red admirals hibernated successfully in our winters but in recent years many do as a matter of course.

However, it was encouraging to see this one had survived the coldest winter for more than 30 years and was in excellent condition.

Even the painted lady butterfly has been overwintering in Britain recently but I wonder if any of the offspring of the billions that arrived here last May attempted to hibernate and survive into this cold spring.

We know that progeny of those early summer arrivals did make the return journey south in the autumn and some red admirals also travel back to the continent at summer’s end.