Signs of Spring

It’s official – spring is here! I may have been overly optimistically trying to find signs of spring since early February but now no one can deny the distinctive indications of the season’s onset. Our humble back garden has yet again been transformed into a birdwatcher’s treat. The suet balls and birdseed are requiring restocking at an ever increasing rate as blue, great and long-tailed tits visit our bird restaurant on what seems like an hourly basis – not that we mind, it is so fascinating to watch them feed.

We have also revelled in watching different birds check out the variety of bird boxes in our garden. It really does look like they are attending a house viewing as humans might. They pop in, have a look around, decide whether it is right for them, and if they like it they might come back to see it a couple more times before moving in. We have been lucky enough this year to see a pair of robins go from their first viewings to settling into their new home. What to us looks like just a small wooden box, is to them the perfect place to lay and incubate their eggs and raise their chicks for the first few weeks of their lives. We have been delighted to watch as the couple furnish their new abode with the leaves and bits of moss that they have snaffled from the undergrowth, and without wanting to anthropomorphise them it is hard to watch the male feeding the female without being struck by how cute the situation is.

But it’s not just in your garden where you can see spring unfolding. Around our village right now there are so many fresh signs that nature is waking up and shaking off the sleepiness of winter. If you have been near the playing fields recently, you may have heard a loud repetitive hollow hammering noise. Despite the volume sounding like it belongs to a distant building site, this is the sound of great-spotted woodpeckers claiming their territory and foraging for invertebrates. If you keep an eye out you might even spot one of these impressive black, white and red birds dipping and darting across the fields on their way to another tree.

The butterflies, too, are making it known that spring is here. If you head to the woods or the agricultural fields you may spot some of the butterflies which start to emerge in April, such as brimstones, large and small whites, peacocks and commas, to name but a few. And if you’re in the woods, you should definitely stop to admire the carpets of dazzling azure bluebells, they really are a spectacular sight.

Nature is magnificent all year round but I have to admit that spring is particularly special to me. The country slowly starts to turn green again, wildflowers bloom with gusto, and the air is alive with the melodious singing of birds and the fluttering of insects. What’s not to love?