Big Butterfly Count

I decided to take part in the Big Butterfly Count after seeing it promoted by Sir David Attenborough. Having an insect friendly garden meant I didn't have to go away from home to spot several species. First up was a Peacock butterfly:

That shows why they have eyes to make them look scary to predators! There were two of them enjoying the nectar:

It was fascinating watching the proboscis being dipped into the flowers:

They look so much plainer when you can't see the colourful side of the wings:

The next type of butterfly I thought at first was a tortoiseshell but when I checked its identification I realised it was actually a Painted Lady

This was a little bit smaller than the peacock:

and not all phased by sharing the bush with plenty of bees:

Thanks to burst mode I caught it with its proboscis unfurling:

I think there were more bumblebees than anything else flying around looking for food:

This shot shows the distinctive white dots which give it the Painted moniker:

They are amazingly nippy when they take off:

I also saw a small white butterfly but it flew off too fast to be photographed! Have you taken part in the butterfly count? If so what have you seen?