With the fields being drier with the colder weather we have been having, they have become less poached than earlier this year. Grasses have started to grow and some of the crops already planted will start to shoot up towards the end of the month. The sap will be rising in the trees and flowers this month and many leaves will emerge changing our landscape from many shades of grey and brown to greens sprinkled with the white blossom from Blackthorn.

Newly laid Hedge

By mid-March it is not recommended to cut hedgerows or lay them because of nesting birds. The longer the farmers can leave stubble in the field the more this will help birds and animals to find the left over seeds that can be found there. It is also good practice not to spray any herbicide or pesticide on field margins or beside hedgerows after mid-March because it kills off many species of insect which can be beneficial to the crops as well as save some of our less common arable plants.

Little Owl (Anthene noctua)

As the evenings become lighter and warmer listen out for the repeated mewing "kiew" sound made by the Little Owl (Anthene noctua). Although the Little Owl can be found living in parkland, orchards and places with cliff edges like quarries and sea cliffs, the best place to see and hear them is by arable land with plenty of hollow trees growing along the hedgerows or beside a wood. The Little Owl is not native to this country but was introduced over a hundred years ago. Since then it has spread across England and into Wales and parts of Scotland. This month they will be pairing up and by mid-April the female will have laid her clutch of eggs. The Little Owl predates mainly on beetles but also eats small rodents, small birds, molluscs and other insects. They can often be seen resting on fence posts or telephone lines.

Sweet Violet (Viola odorata)

Apart from Primroses and Lesser Celandine there are a number of other flowers to look out for this month. One fairly common plant found along country lanes is the Sweet Violet (Viola odorata). This violet is our only violet that gives off a sweet fragrance. This plant has been associated with love for thousands of years. The Greeks made the Sweet Violet the symbol of Athens because they were so taken by it. The flowers used to be picked and strewn over floors to freshen the smell of houses. It also possesses a substance known as "Ionine" that has a strange property, after initially smelling the pleasant fragrance of violets, "ionine" can cause temporary loss of smell.

Dog's Mercury (Mercurialis perennis)

A less colourful and less pleasant smelling plant that can be found carpeting our downland woodlands is Dog's Mercury (Mercurialis perennis). It can be found in the weald in woodlands and hedge banks too. Originally it was supposed to have been named by the Roman God "Mercury". However, the part of its name "dog" derives from the belief it wasn't good for any thing except dogs. This infact cannot be true because any animal, including dogs, would be severely poisoned, if not killed, if it ate too much of this plant. Wild animals seem to sense it as bad and avoid it. However, the unpleasant smell does seem to attract midges that crawl all over it and so help pollinate it.
Probably the most noticeable flower we will see this month on the lead up to Easter is the Daffodil. There are many varieties of Daffodils to be seen, however, in some of our semi-ancient woodlands and hedge banks you may find the Wild Daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarsissus).

Wild Daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarsissus)

The Wild Daffodil used to be widespread but the numbers have been reduced. This is because of the removal of much woodland and drainage of pasture but by far the most damaging and inexcusable reason is that it has been dug up and put into gardens and churchyards. It is illegal to dig up Wild Daffodils from the wild.

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

With these early warm spring days many insects take advantage of the flowers that are already blooming. One very colourful insect you may see is the Red Admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta) which will have been over wintering here in its adult stage. They have been able to survive to the spring because of the mild winters we have here in the south. Later in the year more Red Admiral butterflies will come here from the continent.

The clocks change towards the end of the month and so our days will at last become much much lighter. Next month is traditionally associated with rain showers and so I will talk more on the theme of wetlands and what you might see during the month of April.