April has been and gone and what an unusual month it was.

Bluebells

It was a very dry and sunny month instead of the usual numerous rain showers. Only towards the end of the month did we have any real rain. Because of this good weather many of the flowers are advanced and the most noticeable flower out in bloom is the Bluebell. This year the bluebells are spectacular with their vibrant mauve-blue hue covering many woodland floors.

Because of the lack of rain the grass has not grown very well and this has meant many farmers having to delay cutting their first crop of silage. At this time of year it is preferable that fields are not over stocked to give ground nesting birds a chance to bring off their fledglings with less disturbance from farm animals.
However, because of the lack of plant growth this year it has been difficult finding grazing for some livestock, so some areas have been over stocked.

It is best practice for farmers to leave a wide field margin to ensure that insects can find many flowering plants to feed on. This is also true for various species of small rodents being able to find enough food sources and in turn birds of prey, like barn owls.

Mute Swan Cygnus olor

I have already seen many of our summer visiting birds arrive this last month like the Cuckoo, Swallow, Housemartin, Nightingale, Whitethroat and others. All of these birds are defining their territory, singing loudly to attract mates, building nests and some are already feeding young. One of our most majestic looking birds that is here all year round is the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor). The name is very deceiving because although it is quieter than the other native swans we have in this country I have heard them hiss and snort at any one nearing their nest at this time of year and will continue especially when they have young cygnets over the next few weeks.

Yellow Iris Iris pseudacorus

On pond edges the deep yellow flowers of the Yellow Iris (Iris pseudacorus) will start coming out this month and are usually pollinated by bees. This flower was adopted as an emblem used by Louis VII that he carried into battle in the crusade against the Saracens in the 11th century. This emblem was known as "Fleur-de-Lys" which means "Flower of Louis".

Toothwort

In some of our semi-ancient woodlands at the base of hazel trees you may be lucky enough to see a very unusual plant called Toothwort. In the past it used to be known as "Corpse flower" because of its strange colour and it was believed only to grow from buried corpses. However, this strange pink to white and sometimes purple colour comes about because Toothwort has no chlorophyll like most other plants do, being green and reliant on sunlight to give them their colour. This plant is a parasite usually on hazel and extracts it nourishment from its host. The balance for the host and parasite is important if both are to co-exist together. If the toothwort removes too much nutrient from the host then the host will die and in turn kill the Toothwort, but if the Toothwort takes too little nutrient it cannot reproduce and will die.

Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas

Now already this year I have seen many species of butterfly but this month you may be lucky to see the Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas). This butterfly is generally brown in colour with wonderful copper-orange markings with black spots. Although this butterfly can be seen feeding on the nectar of flowers it will be searching for its offspring's food plant, which is never far away, because as a caterpillar it prefers to feed on the leaves of Dock and Sorrel.

Grass snake Natrix natrix

Also at this time of year many reptiles are out and one of the more common species of snake we have in this county is the Grass snake (Natrix natrix). In the U.K this snake can grow from three feet in length to sometimes five feet. They are usually green in colour and can easily be distinguished by the yellow ring around their neck. The male and female Grass snake will try to mate this month if they haven't already. Later in the year the female will go in search of a compost heap or manure heap to lay her eggs where the warm temperature of the decomposing matter helps to speed up the process of the eggs to hatch.

Next month roses come in to bloom.