A Slow Reveal Spring 2023

 

Back on the 23rd of February I was working at the wood and heard the wonderful sound of bees for the first time this year. They were feeding on the gorse bushes and are local honey bees. I saw my first bumblebee queen a few days later on 26th February which was a week later than last year. This would not be considered spring but the air felt alive with new growth.

 
These daffodils are on the roadside and came up by 5th March 2023 and the pussy willow emerged at the same time.

 

By 10th March they were silver and the honeysuckle leaves were out.

By the following week the willow flowers had came out and were providing food for the many bumblebees now out of hibernation.

Dandelions are important to early bumblebees and the first ones were fully out by 14th April

This is a favourite tree of mine and visitors. This silver birch started life engulfed by gorse and had to find its way to the light. I am hoping in time that this will be strong enough to sit on. I will plant behind it but respect its space now it has found its way. The earlier picture is from 16th April and the later one 5th May. Below is the catkins on 16th April.                                

       

The same week the damson blossom appeared on the more mature of the damson trees I planted in March. This is a sign that they are taking to their new home well and that I may have a few damsons later this year.

   

The cherry blossom then sprung as if from nowhere and has been spectacular. Different trees have come out a week or two apart giving a good show this year.

The blackthorn took its turn but seemed to fade quickly this year - blink and it had gone. There was no overlap with the hawthorn this year while in previous year's there has been.

The violets have been out since 14th April and are still present a month later. There are definitely more this year than in previous years.

The sound of birdsong has got stronger in the last weeks. I heard my first cuckoo on 6th May and chiffchaffs have been around for a while but I didn't note when I heard the first one. The picture above is either a chiffchaff or a willow warbler - I have both at the wood. I used the Merlin Bird App on dawn chorus morning and picked up the following birdsong between 4.30am - 5.30am.

- Common Chiffchaff

- Barn Swallow

- Robin

- Willow warbler

- Blackbird

- Goldfinch

- Chaffinch

- Garden Warbler

I also heard an owl - likely to be a tawny owl and a number of pheasants of course although fewer than in previous years when they have been raised on the neighbouring land. On other days I have picked up

- Nuthatch

- Blackcap

- Swift

- Song Thrush

- Blue Tit

- Wren

- Common Linnet

- Great Tit

- Long Tailed Tit

- Great Spotted Woodpecker

- Goldfinch

- Willow Warbler

I am only reporting what is showing on the App so a degree of caution is needed. I have seen many of these birds but not the Linnet and I would not be able to tell the two types of warblers apart.

The bluebells are more prolific this year and this shot of bluebells with cherry blossom behind was taken on 6th May and below the hawthorn is in leaf but no blossom yet but there will be a nice hand over from one to the other this week I think.

There are more clumps of white bluebells this year - I have spotted 3 and there may be more. I only found one clump last year.

I call this area the Maydor (a corridor of hawthorn whose flowers are known as May blossom). It is a useful connecting corridor through thick gorse which is why I named it. The pictures above were taken on 4th December 2022 and shows it in its winter clothing - the gorse is just arriving and these are candle snuff fungi. Below spring has arrived with the grass glowing in the sunlight and the second one has the hawthorn leaves are sprouting. These trees are being slow to produce their blossom - I'll add a photo when they are out and it will look like a Maydor!

    

8th April then the 8th May

The first hawthorn tree blossomed on this one tree 7th May and the rest are following rapidly.

         

  

The violets have gone on and on this year (I spotted the first ones on April 14th and they are going strong nearly a month later) and have been joined by these wood sorrel under the trees.

There is a larger crop of Early Purple Orchids in the same spot as last year and these were fully open on 6th May, about 2 weeks earlier than last year. I fear they have all been eaten again before they have created seed heads so I can't expect any spread. Maybe I need to protect them next year if I can but I don't know what has eaten them. I'll see if I can find a spot for the camera next year to find out. * edit - found them! All doing ok. 

The stitchwort is lovely again this year

The white beam came into leaf all of a sudden and catches the light as I look across the valley.

These three silver birch are handsome all year round - here they are on 14th April and 5th May.

 

And in that same timeframe I spotted the first bracken shoot on the left which has been joined by many more.

By the 10th May they were everywhere! This is a key planting area and this size of bracken (which will reach 1.5m in another couple of weeks) would be a considerable threat to the little saplings to be planted next year. That's why I postponed planting from this year to next. There will be two bashes done this summer with the aim of weakening the rhizomes before planting.

The oaks came into leaf and flower by 10th May

              

This year is particularly good for cowslips. I only have a record of one clump last year while I have found at least 6 clumps this year and maybe more. On the right above is the bird cherry in flower. This is on the roadside. I don't have any on my land and am not planting any next year but they are prolific locally and I am sure the seed will blow in and self seed over time.

                        

This really does feel like summer now with bugle and the rowan trees in leaf. The gorse is beginning to fade but is still giving a splash of colour. The broom is emerging to take over the yellow (below) 

I have seen very few butterflies so far this year - one Red Admiral, one Speckled Wood and one male Orange Tip. I hear they are late and we have had some sunny days with cold rainy ones in between which is not ideal but the temperature at night is warming up now so I hope they will appear soon.

The variety of greens and with the white cherry blossom in this shot is lovely to my eye and typifies spring. Changes are occurring every day now as summer arrives. This is a lovely time of year before the bracken takes hold and when I see and hear changes every day. I know everywhere is lovely in spring. I have learned to spot subtle changes as I spend more time getting to know this one place intimately and as ever am learning and realising how much I have yet to learn!