Last Monday, 2 March, I was delighted but also rather astounded to see my first Speckled wood butterfly for 2026 – astounded because this is four weeks earlier than I saw the first of this species in 2024 and 2025. This is nowhere near a UK record though, as the first sighting I found on iRecord was reported at Old Colwyn, in Denbighshire, on 21 February, and there are two other February records in the system: in Cornwall on 22 February and in north Essex on the 25th. The second of March was obviously a warm day across Britain as mine was one of several sightings recorded from various locations on that day. (Of course, these are only the sightings that have been recorded; other Speckled wood butterflies may have been seen but most people don’t record their sightings.)