SKYLARK SUE’S REFLECTIONS OF NATURE 

April 2013

April brings the primrose sweet

Scatters daisies at our feet

The weather in April is normally a mix, but somehow, this wasn’t ‘proper’ April weather. Cold winds of March continued through much of the month, and there was plenty of rain, although we did have a few warmer days which really felt spring-like. Unfortunately, owing to a back problem I was unable to get around much this month, and so most of this report is very local.

April 1^st saw some sunshine, though it was still very chilly.  Buds were forming at last on the fruit trees and a few long tailed tits came into the garden to investigate the feeders. I’m very fond of these small birds, with their soft pink and grey colouring and sweet twittery voices. They are constantly on the move, even when feeding they keep shifting position, often hanging upside down.

The blue tits were in and out of a nest box, and a strange tapping noise was coming from inside, as though one of them was pecking on the wood. The next day a blue tit was tugging at a withered plant stem for ages, presumably to take for its nest. Over the next few days, the usual garden birds were down, including a pair of blackbirds who really enjoy bathing in our ball fountain. I like to have blackbirds in the garden - nothing can match the blackbird's song last rhing at night or early in the morning. Such a pure sound.

The ball fountain was purchased several years ago, and though we have a couple of ither fountains in the garden, as well as the wild life ponds and a bird bath, it's the ball fountain that seems the favoutite bathing place of the sparrows, robins, tits, blackbirds and srarlings. Even the wood pigeons try to jam themselves into the water. The fountain has a small 'bubbler' on the top, with a shallow basin around, and the waterthen runs down the ball of the fountain into a a large shallow tray. It's the bubble part that the birds really liove, presumably the equivalent of a jacuzzi or a shower bath.

By the 6^th, it had turned milder and the cold wind had dropped. It was sunny, too. We were delighted to welcome a pair of chaffinches to the garden. They were perched on the old apple tree. We rarely see these birds in our garden, though we did have a youngster and a female last year. Although chaffinches are meant to be one of our most common birds here in Britain, they don’t seem to frequent our particular corner of Essex so much. Hopefully these will nest nearby; it’s a good sign that they have returned from last year. The long tailed tits were back as well, and as usual, robins were making full use of the feeder.

Many of the spring bulbs were in full bloom and the fritillaries in bud. One small prunus already had pink blossom, and there was an enormous bumble bee on the daffodils and crocuses. Two days later I spent a long time watching a wood mouse. It seemed to have found a home between the base of a fence and a low wall, and kept coming up the wall and climbing over to collect seed from under the bird feeder. Wood mice are pretty creatures with large eyes and large ears, and are probably the most common of the British mice nowadays. Unlike the drab grey fur of a house mouse, the fur of the wood mouse is a warm brown, and it really gleams in the sun. The wood mice have longer tails than the house mice, and seem daintier in their behaviour. They don’t have that strong mousy smell, either.

On the 12^th April I noticed a rook ‘anting’ over a chimney as we drove through a nearby village. It was next to the chimney with its wings splayed out over the top as it let the smoke filter through the feathers. I have seen this behaviour several times before, and last year on the Isle of Wight watched a couple of rooks anting over grass – spreading their wings wide so that ants could pass through the feathers. Some people say that rooks use smoke or ants in this way to repel parasites such as lice, while others believe it’s a way of preening, ensuring the feathers are kept in good condition. Whatever the reason, it is interesting behaviour to watch. Sadly I couldn’t get a photo as I only had time to glimpse the rook from the car. The next day I saw that the two blue tits were going in and out of one of the nest boxes again, so they have obviously decided it’s their home. The chosen nest box is an old one, originally made by my Father in the 1980s, and has always had occupants in the spring. Last year I bought a box with a camera, installed it where the old nest box was and removed the old nest box to a new position, hoping that the birds would be fooled into using the camera box. They weren’t – they simply found the old box.

On April 14^th, which was a warm, sunny day, we counted twelve newts in the old wildlife pond, and eight in the new pond that we created last year. Both ponds are very small, but they attract quite a lot of water creatures. Years ago we used to get plenty of frogs in the garden, but sadly they disappeared. I believe this was due to disease, most probably red leg disease. For years we didn’t see any. Then last year we saw a couple around the ponds, so we are hoping they will come back this year, but so far there is no sign. There was no spawn. As far as I know, no one else has a pond nearby, so I have no idea where last year’s frogs came from.

The little nectarine tree was showing blossom , and the snakeshead fritillaries were just beginning to open. Snakeshead fritillaries are attractive plants, with chequered drooping bells; the chequered pattern resembles snake’s skin, hence the name. There are many different species of fritillary, but only fritillaria meleagris is native to Britain. It’s a protected plant, but it is possible to but cultivated bulbs from garden centres. They look vaguely alien when the sun’s rays shine through the patterned magenta drooping flower head, which is supported by a fragile stem, and the light illuminates the bell, throwing the markings into sharp relief.

It was fairly mild the following day, though rather breezy. A trip to Hatfield Forest showed that the pussy willow was now really fluffy, the daisies were coming out and the celandines were still in flower. On the lake were a pair of swans, obviously nesting along the bank, and the male was angrily chasing Canada geese. The cob looked like a galleon in full sail as it stormed through the water, feathers puffed up, before flapping its wings and seemingly running across the surface. The geese made a quick retreat, with much honking and hissing. Other birds on the lakes included great crested grebes, moorhens, mallards and coots.

The jackdaws were building their nests. One pair had found a hole high up in a tree and were flying in and out.  I am sure there are many more jackdaws around nowadays. I seem to see them everywhere; on roadside verges, in fields and parks. Cheerful birds, and their ‘chack, chack’ cry (from whence their name derives) is much more melodious (if a corvid call can be called that!) than the raucous caws of the rook or crow. On the journey home, a yellowhammer flew from a hedge, and there were several pheasants around.

Many of the hedges around this area of Essex – those bordering the roads – seem to have been hacked really badly. It’s as though the cutting machines that the contractors are now using just rip and tear the branches instead of cutting cleanly through them. There are long stretches of hedgerow with ugly gashes, snapped branches hanging down and split trunks. It can’t be good for the bushes. I always worry about hedge cutting at this time of year; despite the cold weather some birds are nesting – how many nests have these cutting machines destroyed?

The dandelions are in flower now. They seem really large this year, and bright, too. Seemingly the heavy rain we experienced earlier in the year suited the plants, and maybe the cold spells did as well. Certainly, they are beautiful, especially when the sun is out, emphasising the deep yellow-gold of the petals and though gardeners might think the plant a weed, it is much appreciated by many forms of wildlife. I often think that if dandelions were not so common, they would be treasured for their splendour.

My husband inadvertently frightened a squirrel on the 17^th of April. It was nibbling nuts at the bird feeder, and when the back door was opened the squirrel was ‘spooked’. It fell backwards into the birdbath, then scampered up the apple tree shaking its wet tail and glaring angrily. The squirrels aren’t coming to the garden quite as much now, so I imagine that they are finding food elsewhere. I’ve noticed them pursuing each other up a nearby oak, so perhaps that is where they will make their home.

April 20^th was another sunny day. There was plenty of hectic activity, what with woodpigeons chasing each other in the oak tree across the road from the garden, and magpies careering after the pigeons. There was a great deal of wing flapping, harsh cries and crashing as the birds seemingly hurled themselves through the branches. A robin was bathing in the bird bath, and another robin came and fed it –maybe the male feeding the female. I am still hopeful that they are nesting in the garden, maybe in our thick conifer. Several bees were buzzing around the plants and they were particularly attracted to the fritillaries. There were two blue tits in the tree and on the feeders, so they can’t be sitting on eggs yet. We hung a fat-filled half coconut in the apple tree, and the blue tits are really enjoying it, hanging upside down as they peck off morsels of fat. They seem to prefer it to the fat balls in the holder.  

By April 23^rd, a warm and sunny day, there was quite a lot of blossom out, though not the apple tree or the crab apples, which flower later than many other types of fruit tree. The white magnolia stellata is also in flower, and is beautiful. We thought that the buds had been frosted this year and wouldn’t open, because they formed when we had the bitterly cold snowy spell in February, and seemed frozen. There are still plenty of newts in the ponds, from large ones to tiny ones. Some of the smaller newts still have feathery gills, so must have overwintered at the bottom of the pond. I’m surprised that they survived the low temperatures, the ice and the snow, but they certainly look healthy.

The colder weather returned with a vengeance over the next few days, the worst  thing was a bitterly cold wind which made it unpleasant even in the sun. Then, on the 27^th April, we had a hail shower. Goodness knows what effect these extremes of temperatures will have on the plants and wildlife. The birds must be very confused and I’m sure that’s why the blue tits seem to be so slow with their nest box activities this year.

The last day of the month, the 30^th April, was sunny but there was a biting wind yet again. A quick visit to Hatfield Forest revealed a mass of blackthorn and other blossom. Later in the year, the bushes will be heavy with sloes. All the trees were now showing green, a tremendous contrast to our visit a fortnight ago when most sported bare twigs. These were swallows skimming the lake, taking insects. It’s always a welcome sight to see these graceful birds back in Britain after their long journey. The lake was quiet, though – just a few mallards, Canada geese, moorhen and coot.  Blue tits and robins were seeking out insects amongst the trees and blossoms. I had hoped to hear a cuckoo, but had no luck. They are becoming so scarce around here now. It wasn’t that long ago that we would hear a cuckoo calling every spring near our home, but not any more.

On the journey back from the forest we saw lots of pheasants in the fields and along the road. The verges in several places were thick with cowslips; such a pretty flower. It seems to do well in this part of Essex.

Cowslips, sweet lips, smelling of the summer

Coming with the cuckoo, bringing in the May

Lift your heads in pastures

Where the cattle spares you,

Waiting to be gather’d when the children come to play.

And so another month is past, a strange mixture of extreme cold and temperatures in the high 60s. April always is renowned for its ‘sunshine and showers’ weather, but surely this April has been very strange indeed. I await May with interest to see what it has in store for us.