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?
