Great. I haven't seen more than half a dozen for the whole year. It's not that bad, though. It's been a cracking year for Clouded Yellow in Suffolk with two (probable) Pale Clouded Yellow reported as well.

They're beautiful in flight. Sadly, we have to wait until May or even June for our British subspecies to be on the wing again. Enjoy your swallowtails.

A lot of small birds do seem to hide away in windy weather. Some reasons for it, including being unable to hear and see predators as well. Rustling sounds and moving plant material interfere with their movement based predator detection. They can't control their evasive manoeuvres as well in gusts.

Sooo happy you got to see one. They're having a fantastic year. Once a decade we have a bumper season and this is one of those years.

Welcome to Bluesky, it's great to have another hoverator onboard.

I suspect it's a male. Drones have longer antennae and abdomens (more segments) than workers or queens. Hard for a non-expert like me to tell with a photo. They're usually very docile if left alone. They even recognise individual people which means you can get even closer once they accept you.