How to… Identify Hedgerow Plants

/ Laura Tuke / Leave a comment

Whizzing past our car windows, naturally bordering our fields and gardens, or providing a home for wildlife. Often going unseen and unnoticed, hedgerows are a widespread and overlooked habitat right on our doorsteps. Bountiful and bursting with life, each hedge is unique from the next, with a story to be told and a world to be explored.

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From butterflies and birds to hedgehogs and dormice, an incredible number of species rely on the plants in our hedges for their survival, such as food, shelter, and corridors along which to travel. They do not just play a role for wildlife though, holding value in the wider landscape, providing us with services such as stopping soil erosion and buffering pollution. In this way, hedgerows have been important for humans and wildlife alike for hundreds of years!

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The first hedgerows can be dated back to the Bronze Age, when farmers cleared woodland to grow crops, leaving carefully maintained strips to act as boundaries. Some of these strips of ancient woodland can still be found today! Since then hedges have grown in popularity, but following the Second World War, many were ripped up to provide more space to grow food and for development. Despite approximately half of all hedges in Britain being lost during this time, thankfully the remaining were given protected status in 1997.

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The hedgerows rolling across our countryside today are a piece of history, full of life and colour and provide us with a whole host of resources. So, why not try and see this for yourself, and take a moment to see what you can find in a hedgerow local to you? To help, here’s my simple guide to identifying some of our iconic hedgerow species.

Hedgerow Plants

Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)Blackthorn

  • Family: Rose – related to fruiting trees such as cherries and plums
  • Size: Up to 4m tall
  • Stems and twigs: Blackish and thorny
  • Leaves: 2-4cm long, oval-shaped tapering to a point with toothed margins
  • Flowers: Snow-white and 5-petalled with red-tipped anthers in the centre. Flowers late March-April, appearing BEFORE the leaves
  • Seeds: Produces fruit (sloes) which are small blackish plums with a bluish powdery surface. Tongue-numbingly tart to eat but popular to flavour gin
  • Range: Widespread and common throughout most of Britain
  • Fun Facts: Blackthorn, long used for making items such as walking and riding sticks, has long been associated with witchcraft

Spindle (Euonymus europaeus)Spindle

  • Indicator of an ancient hedgerow
  • Family: Staff-vine
  • Size: Up to 9m tall
  • Stems and twigs: Bark and 4-sided twigs are deep green, darkening with age
  • Leaves: 3-13cm long, shiny, mid-green, oval-shaped tapering to a point with finely toothed margins, and turning distinctively pinkish-red in autumn
  • Flowers: Greenish-white and 4-petalled in small overlooked stalked clusters. Flowers May-June
  • Seeds: Distinctive 4-lobed bright coral-pink berries
  • Range: Less common in Scotland and Ireland, found throughout England and Wales, but most frequent in the south
  • Fun Facts: The hard dense wood of spindle was used from ancient times to make spindles, whereas the leaves and seeds were powdered to dust on the skin of children to drive away lice

Cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) Cow parsley

  • Family: Carrot – related to species such as parsnips and poison hemlock
  • Size: ~1m tall
  • Stems and twigs: Stems are hollow and furrowed, often becoming purple
  • Leaves: Fresh green, 3-pinnate, and sharply cut
  • Flowers: White, forming clusters known as umbels. Flowers April-June
  • Seeds: Round, smooth and broad-based
  • Range: Widespread and common throughout Britain and strongly associated with hedgerows
  • Fun Facts: Its folk-name is ‘Queen Anne’s lace’. This comes from a folk tale which said that the flowers would bloom for Queen Anne and her ladies in waiting and reflect the delicate lace they wore

Common Hazel (Corylus avellana)Hazel

  • Family: Birch – related to species such as silver birch, alders and hornbeams
  • Size: Up to 8m tall
  • Stems and twigs: Bark coppery brown, smooth and tending to peel
  • Leaves: 5-12cm long and almost circular with sawtooth edges
  • Flowers: Male= lemon-yellow catkins; Female= Tiny and bud-like with red styles. Flowers January-March BEFORE the leaves
  • Seeds: An edible nut encased at first in a thick-green husk before ripening in autumn
  • Range: Widespread and common throughout Britain
  • Fun Facts: Hazel rods have historically been used for a range of purposes from hurdles and coracles for fishing to house building and basketwork

Dog Rose (Rosa canina)

  • Family: Rose
  • Size: Up to 4m tall
  • Stems and twigs: Arching stems with broad-based strongly hooked prickles
  • Leaves: Dark green and oval-shaped tapering to a point with toothed edges
  • Flowers: Flat and fragrant white or pale pink, with large petals and hairless stalks. Flowers June-July
  • Seeds: Fruit, known as a hip, that is egg-shaped and bright red
  • Range: Most common and variable wild rose, widespread throughout Britain, but most frequent in the south
  • Fun Facts: Adopted as a symbol of the British monarchy and England since the reign of Henry VII. It is also a valuable medicinal plant, with its hips being made into a Vitamin C rich syrup for children

Field Rose (Rosa arvensis)

  • Compared to the Dog Rose, the Field Rose is shorter, growing up to about 2m, with slightly smaller, cup-shaped creamy-white flowers that flower about a fortnight later, from June-July. Also, the flowers’ sepals are often purplish, the styles are in a column, and the hips are smaller and often more round. The Field Rose’s range does not stretch as far north as that of the Dog Rose, being absent from Scotland

Roses

Common Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)Hawthorn

  • Family: Rose
  • Size: Up to 10m tall
  • Stems and twigs: Very thorny and hairless
  • Leaves: Leafing in April, the leaves are shiny and roughly oval-shaped with 3-5 deeply cut lobes
  • Flowers: White fragrant (sickly sweet) flowers with pink/purple anthers, only one style and 5 petals. Become deeper pink as they fade
  • Seeds: Fruit, known as haws, have a single seed and ripen to a bright red
  • Range: Widespread and common throughout Britain
  • Fun Facts: Hawthorn is linked to Christian, pagan and medieval rites, and has ancient associations with May Day. Bringing hawthorn blossom in your house was believed to bring in illness and death upon you

Elder (Sambucus nigra)Elder

  • Family: Previously in the honeysuckle family , but now reclassified in moschatel
  • Size: Up to 10m tall
  • Stems and twigs: Strong smelling with corky and fissured bark
  • Leaves: Dark green, pinnate with 5-7 leaflets
  • Flowers: White, small and fragrant in flat-topped clusters with yellow anthers. Flowers May-August
  • Seeds: Produces a juicy edible purplish-black berry
  • Range: Widespread and common throughout Britain
  • Fun Facts: Has many uses from wines and jams, to toys and dyes. Also, it was believed that planting an elder tree near your house would keep the Devil away

Field Maple (Acer campestre)Field Maple

  • Family: Soapberry – related to horse chestnut and lychee
  • Size: Up to 25m tall
  • Stems and twigs: Twigs downy
  • Leaves: Much smaller than sycamore at 4-7cm long and wide, rather bluntly lobed (3-5), and dark green. Turn distinctively amber in autumn
  • Flowers: Yellowish-green and carried in upright spikes. Flowers May-June after the leaves
  • Seeds: The seeds, known as keys, are winged and paired forming an angle of 180 degrees
  • Range: Common in England and East Wales, but less common elsewhere
  • Fun Facts: Wood used for furniture veneers, wall panelling, and violin-making, but previously used to make domestic utensils such as drinking bowls. As with all maple trees, the sap of the field maple can be used to make maple syrup

Bramble (Rubus fruticosus)Bramble

  • Family: Rose – closely related to species such as raspberries and dewberries
  • Size: Up to 4m tall or long
  • Stems and twigs: Prickly and half-evergreen
  • Leaves: 3-5 broad, toothed leaflets
  • Flowers: White or pink and flowers from May onwards
  • Seeds: Fruit is the familiar edible blackberry that starts green, then turns red, finally ripening to purple-black
  • Range: Widespread and common throughout Britain
  • Fun Facts: Folklore dictates that blackberries should not be picked after Old Michaelmas Day in October, as the Devil has sullied them. Brambles were also previously planted on graves to stop sheep grazing

Pedunculate or English oak (Quercus robur)

  • Family: Beech – related to species such as beech and sweet chestnut
  • Size: Up to 40m tall
  • Stems and twigs: Massive rugged grey-brown trunk and broad crown
  • Leaves: 10-12cm long, oblong, usually broader at the base and lobed, turning brown in autumn
  • Flowers: Yellow-green catkins flowering April-June
  • Seeds: Produces the familiar acorn, with scaly cups and clusters carried on long stalks
  • Range: Widespread and common throughout Britain
  • Fun Facts: Druids in Celtic Britain held the oak tree sacred, with the oak becoming an English national symbol of strength

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Sessile oak (Quercus petraea)

  • Differs to Pedunculate Oak in that the leaves taper to an unlobed base and have long stalks. Also, the clustered acorns are almost stalk-less with downy cups. Prefers more acid soils and is more common in the West of Britain

Oak Trees

Other species

  • There are lots of flowering species to also be found at the base of hedges. To help with identifying these, check out my ‘How to… Identify Woodland Flowers’ guide, to help with crossover species, such as bluebells, primroses, and moschatel

All photos and drawings are my own

How to…Use and Make the Most of a Camera Trap

/ Laura Tuke / 2 Comments

There is nothing like the exhilaration of camera trapping. Setting up the camera trap/trail camera in a golden location, waiting with anticipation for the camera check day, and riding a rollercoaster when capturing something totally unexpected. Camera trapping is one highly addictive activity!

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So why is camera trapping so popular? Well, camera traps allow us to non-invasively open up a normally unseen world. This is a thrilling thing to be able to do, giving us the addictive ability to observe wildlife up close and personal without disturbance. In this way, camera traps can be used as an important tool to identify the presence or absence of species, monitor animal populations and record interesting behaviour.

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At home on my family’s farm, I use my camera trap to carry out surveys across our land, to find out what wildlife is present, how abundant these species are, and to experience new life in spring in all its glory. However you choose to use your camera trap, I can only say for you to have lots of fun and adventures whilst doing it!

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Buying a camera trap

So where do you start if you do not already own a camera trap? Well all off-the-shelf camera traps have similar components and operate on the same principles: a digital camera connected to an infrared sensor that “sees” warm moving objects. Camera traps typically range from £30 to £1000, meaning there is a lot of choice out there. To find the camera trap that is right for you though, you should consider these key questions:

  • How much are you willing to spend?
  • What are you going to be wanting to use it for?
  • Where are you going to be using it?
  • Do you want to use it during the daytime, night-time (black and white or colour) or both?
  • Do you want to take photos, videos or both?
  • Will you want increased capabilities, such as wireless, geo-tagging or higher detection capabilities?

The camera trap I use is a simple Bushnell model that I bought many years ago now for about £120.

How to use a camera trap to get the best from it

Camera traps have a lot of potential as they can remain operational 24/7 and can be left in the field for long periods of time. To increase your chance of camera trap success though, you need to set it up properly to maximise animal detection. Here are some handy tips to get you started:

  1. Visit your chosen site before setting up your camera trap to make sure it is the best site possible.16_04_20_Farm_Badger_Alley_5
  2. Do not forget to make sure your camera has another battery life and SD card room each time you set it up.
  3. Carefully select where to mount your camera trap, such as a sturdy tree or post, to make sure your camera will be supported and  positioned to take in your chosen field of view.Detection zone
  4. Consider the height of the animal(s) you are trying to capture to increase detection and inclusion in the frame. For the best result, position your camera trap so it sits just below the target’s shoulder height.Camera Height
  5. Camera angle is as important as height when positioning the camera trap. For best result and to increase the detection range, you want the camera trap to aim horizontally at the subject. A stick is a great way to get a better angle for your camera. Camera angle
  6. Think about where you want the animal to be positioned in the frame. Larger animals are easier to detect so will be detected at longer ranges compared to smaller ones, and animals walking across the camera trap’s field of view will be more easily detected compared to walking towards it.Animal Position
  7. Try to reduce the number of false triggers by trimming back vegetation that could trigger the camera if moving in the wind. Do not remove enough to disturb your intended subjects though!
  8. And always do your research! The more you know about a site or species, the more likely you will get results.

Inspiration for camera trap sites and uses

Over the few years I have owned my own camera trap, I have used it for a number of different purposes and in a variety of locations. Here are some examples of my own work to help inspire you:

  • Abroad – In 2017, I was lucky enough to spend 2 weeks in Costa Rica on a field course for my Bachelor’s degree, and so I decided to take my camera trap along with me. This allowed me to get some cool sightings of some interesting wildlife

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  • Badger setts – A popular choice for a camera trap site is at a badger sett. With 3 established badger setts on my family’s land, I have previously had all sorts of interesting results by observing setts in this way. In particular, it has always been great to see how different species cohabit such locations.

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  • Paths – A great place I have found to put my camera trap is on an enclosed footpath on our land. This is because the path, fondly known as Badger Alley, is bordered either side by hedges, is in the vicinity of used and disused badger setts, and is frequently used by wildlife but infrequently by humans. Always be aware of how safe a camera trap may be on footpaths though!

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Garden – One of my all time favourite projects I used my camera trap for, was to get photos of our own special garden visitor in October 2018. I love getting to see the wildlife that is truly on our doorstep!

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  • Woodland – I have previously found that a woodland can be an interesting place to capture wildlife. The result can often be unexpected or interesting, with less of an idea of what might turn up.

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Animal trail – Another great way to try and capture the wildlife that is in your local area is to find and set up your camera trap on a well used animal trail. It is interesting to find out what animals are actually making those tracks!

Specific animals – Often when camera trapping, you want to capture a specific animal, which leads to research and setting up the camera trap in a position where this animal has been sighted. Relating to this, my other favourite camera trap project has been to capture fox cubs above ground and to observe their behaviour. This has resulted in many cute photos over the years!

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Now it’s your turn! Even if you do not own/want to own a camera trap, there are always ways around it, for example why don’t you see if you can borrow one from somewhere or someone.

Though camera trapping does not always go to plan, the results can be truly satisfying. Time to see what you can find!

For more camera trap action, check out my blog post from last year called: Spring Countryside Camera Trap Surveys

How to… Identify British Woodland Flowers

/ Laura Tuke / 2 Comments

At this moment, as spring moves on, the natural world outside our doors is going through one of its busiest times. From birds nesting to the leaves bursting, the world around us is buzzing with the promise of new life.

During spring, one of my favourite things to do is walk in the dappled light beneath an increasing canopy, between steadfast trees and amongst undergrowth blooming with colour. Walking through a woodland is an easy way to lose yourself for a little while and give yourself a much needed lift. To connect further, an easy way on a woodland walk is to pick out the plants and animals that you can recognise around you. This can often be more difficult than first thought.

So to help you be mindful of the wonderful world out there, I have put together a simple guide to some of my favourite woodland flowering species that are easy to find during spring. It is time to get out there and explore!

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Well known flowers

Primrose (Primula vulgaris)Primrose

  • Size: Low carpeter; up to 12cm tall
  • Flowers: Pale yellow (there are pink-purple forms) with a deep yellow eye and honey-guides
  • Stems and leaves: Long shaggily hairy stems with wrinkled and toothed leaves, that are hairless above and hairy below (up to 15cm long)
  • When does it flower? March-May (heralds the arrival of spring)
  • Where can it be found? Woods, hedgebanks and grassy places throughout Britain

Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna)Lesser celandine

  • Size: Up to 30cm tall
  • Flowers: Solitary with 8-12 glossy yellow petals and 3 sepals
  • Stems and leaves: Hairless with leaves that are long-stalked, heart-shaped, and dark green. Sometimes bear dark or light markings
  • When does it flower? February-May
  • Where can it be found? Woods, grassland, hedges, waysides, bare ground and by fresh water throughout Britain

Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scriptus)Bluebell 2

  • Size: Up to 50cm tall
  • Flowers: Azure blue (though sometimes pink or white) with cream-coloured anthers. Fragrant and bell-shaped with six turned-down lobes
  • Stems and leaves: Long, narrow, strap-shaped, keeled leaves
  • When does it flower? April-June
  • Where can it be found? Carpeting woodlands, hedges, scrubland, on sea-cliffs and mountains in most parts of Britain

Common Dog-violet (Viola riviniana)Common Dog-Violet

  • Most common wild violet species in the UK
  • Size: Up to 15cm tall
  • Flowers: Unscented with petals that are blue-violet but variable, usually overlapping. Stout spur, curved upward, blunt, notched at tip and paler than petals (often creamy)
  • Stems and leaves: Hairless or only slightly downy leaves and stalks. The leaves are long-stalked, heart-shaped, pointed at the tip, and as broad as they are long
  • When does it flower? March-May and sometimes July-September
  • Where can it be found? Woods, hedges, pastures, heaths and rocky areas throughout the British isles

Sweet Violet (Viola odorata)

  • Size: Up to 15cm tall
  • Flowers: Blue-violet, often white, occasionally lilac, pink or yellow. Only fragrant violet in Britain
  • Stems and leaves: Leaves are heart-shaped, downy and enlarged in summer
  • When does it flower? February-May
  • Where can it be found? Woods and hedges over most of the British isles

 

Plants known to some

Wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa)Wood Anemone

  • Size: Up to 30cm tall
  • Flowers: Solitary white (sometimes tinged purple) that nod when closed
  • Stems and leaves: About two-thirds of the way up each slender stem is a ring of three leaves (trifoliate), each divided into three toothed segments. Rising above the leaves is the solitary flower
  • When does it flower? March-May
  • Where can it be found? Carpeting woodlands in spring, as well as hedge-banks and occasionally grasslands throughout Britain

Greater stitchwort (Stellaria holostea)Greater Stitchwort

  • Size: Up to 60cm tall
  • Flowers: Deeply cleft white petals
  • Stems and leaves: Stalkless, narrow and long-pointed leaves with a slightly grey tinge (15-60cm long)
  • When does it flower? March-June
  • Where can it be found? Across woodlands, hedgerows and scrub areas throughout Britain except some northern isles

Wild Garlic/Ramsons (Allium ursinum) Wild Garlic

  • Most common and only native broad-leaved garlic
  • Size: Up to 45cm tall
  • Flowers: White star-like flowers
  • Stems and leaves: Have leafless flowering stems. The leaves are broad, flat, lanceolate and distinctive smelling
  • When does it flower? April-June
  • Where can it be found? Often seen growing in large clumps in woods and shady places throughout Britain

Wild Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)

  • Size: Up to 30cm tall
  • Flowers: White flowers with no gaps between the 5 unnotched petals. Produce reddish fleshy strawberries that have protruding pips
  • Stems and leaves: Hairy. Leaves are trefoil on long stalks and are brighter green on top and pale below. Lower leaves form a rosette
  • When does it flower? April-July
  • Where can it be found? Woods, scrub, and grassland throughout the British Isles

Strawberry

Barren Strawberry (Potentilla sterilis)

  • Size: Up to 30cm tall
  • Flowers: Unlike wild strawberry, there are gaps between the slightly notched white petals. Produces unstrawberry-like non-fleshy fruits
  • Stems and leaves: They are hairy, but unlike wild strawberry, they have smaller, shorter stems and blue-green leaves
  • When does it flower? Earlier than wild strawberry, from February-May
  • Where can it be found? Woodlands, scrub, hedgebanks and other dry banks

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Less known plants

Yellow Archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon)Yellow Archangel

  • Size: Up to 30cm tall
  • Flowers: Yellow and two-lipped, with the upper lip being helmet-shaped and the lower having three almost equal-sized lobes
  • Stems and leaves: Hairy and patch-forming, with leafy and upright flowering stems. The leaves are long-stalked, oval in shape, dark green, irregularly toothed and borne in opposite pairs
  • When does it flower? April-June
  • Where can it be found? Woodlands and hedgerows in England and Wales

Early Purple Orchid (Orchis mascula)Early Purple Orchid

  • Size: Up to 40cm tall
  • Flowers: Form a spike on a stout, upright stem. Usually some shade of purple, sometimes pinkish or white, and are three-lobed with three inner and three outer petals. The upper five petals are oval and form a hood; the lower petal extends into a long lip. Scent described as tom-cat-like
  • Stems and leaves: Lance-shaped, varying from broad to narrow, and usually have round, purple-black blotches on their upper surface
  • When does it flower? April-June
  • Where can it be found? Frequently in woodlands, and is widespread throughout Britain

Moschatel (Adoxa moschatellina)Moschatel

  • Also known as townhall clock and is the only species in its family
  • Size: Up to 15cm tall
  • Flowers: Flower heads greenish, almost forming a cube with one flower on each side (5 petals each) and one flower on top (4 petals). Scent is musk-like, likened to almond or elder blossom
  • Stems and leaves: Hairless with long-stalked trefoil leaves, that are positioned in one pair on each flower-stalk
  • When does it flower? March-May
  • Where can it be found? Woods, hedge-banks, and rocky mountain places, locally common throughout Britain

Herb-robert (Geranium robertianum)Herb-Robert

  • Size: Up to 50cm tall
  • Flowers: Strong smelling and deep pink, occasionally white, with rounded petals that are not notched
  • Stems and leaves: Hairy with stems that are often reddish and leaves that are fern-like with 3-5 lobes
  • When does it flower? April-November
  • Where can it be found? Shady spots on hedgebanks, rocks and walls or in woods throughout Britain

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All photos and drawings are my own 

How to… Identify Animal Footprints

/ Laura Tuke / Leave a comment

Often it can be difficult to catch a proper glimpse of the animals around us, especially those that are more active at night. Just because you may not be able to see them though, does not mean that they are not there. Instead, a great way to find out what is living near you is to play detective and look for the signs they leave behind, such as fur, burrows or droppings.

Here we take a look at a great sign of animals being present, animal tracks/footprints. Though they are best found in snow or wet mud, at this time of year the best way to look for tracks is after rain, hardened in drying mud, or by creating your own tracker. So why not have a go playing detective and see what you can find in your garden or wider countryside whilst getting out for exercise. To help you out, here’s my guide to animal footprints!

Guide to animal footprints

Badger

Footprint Size: 5-6cm long & 5-6.5cm wide

Badger

A badger’s footprint is large, broad and robust with 5 toe pads pointing forwards in front of a broad rear pad. They also may show long claw marks that are well in front of the toes. Claw marks are shorter and closer to the toe pads for the hind feet.

Badger

Fox

Footprint Size: 5-7cm long & 3.5-4.5cm wide

Fox, Cat, Dog

A fox’s footprint is a bit like a dog’s, but appear more narrow in shape with toes closer together, making a diamond shape. There are 4 distinctly oval toes, 2 at the front and 1 towards each side, and a roughly oval rear pad. Foxes do leave claw prints, unlike cats, but do not have the elongated claws that are visible in badger prints. Sometimes impressions of hairs between pads may be visible.

Rat

Footprint Size: Front= 1.8-2.5cm long; Hind= 3-4.5cm long

Rat

A rat’s footprints vary between the front and hind feet. On the fore, they have 4 toes, whereas on the hind, they have 5 toes and a long heel. Their footprints can be mistaken with a water vole’s, but a water vole’s tends to show more splayed toes and a shorter heel.

Rabbit

Footprint Size: Front= 4cm long; Hind= 7.5-9.5cm long

Rabbit

The hind feet of a rabbit are much larger than their fore feet. This means that their footprints will be grouped into a pair of long and a pair of shorter prints. Often you will also see lots of footprints crossing each other and signs of multiple rabbits together.

Hedgehog

Footprint Size: ~2.8cm wide & ~2.5cm long

Hedgehog

A hedgehog’s footprint is long and narrow in shape with 3 toes pointing forward and 2 pointing out to the sides, making a star shape.

Deer

Footprint Size: Vary from muntjac deer at ~3cm long to red deer at ~9cm long

Deer

All deer species have cloven hooves (2 toes), the same as a sheep or a cow. A deer’s toes are more slender and pointed though, looking like 2 teardrops or an upside-down heart. Toes may appear splayed in soft ground.

It tends to be difficult though to tell apart the footprints of different deer species, as they tend to be similar, only differing in size and subtly in shape. A muntjac’s footprint though, for example, will be alot smaller than a red deer’s.

Deer

Otter

Footprint Size: 6-9cm long & up to 6cm wide

Otter

An otter’s feet are webbed due to their semi-aquatic lifestyle, which can make their prints easy to spot if visible. Their fooprints are also round with 5 toes in front of a large rear pad. Short claw marks projecting from the toes may also be visible.

Small mammals e.g. Mink, weasel, stoat, pine marten, polecat

Footprint Size: Varies with species and sex

Small Mammals

Five toes splayed in a star shape

Birds

Footprint Size: Varies with species

Most bird species have four toes, with typically 3 facing forward and 1 backwards. Depending on the species, footprints on the ground will vary in size, shape and form. A common footprint seen in the english countryside is that of the non-native pheasant. Their footprint is fairly distinct due to their large size and looks like an arrow in shape (Footprint Size: 6-8cm long).

All photos and drawings are my own 

Kingston Lacy’s Spectacular Snowdrops

/ Laura Tuke / Leave a comment

‘We all want quiet. We all want beauty… We all need space. Unless we have it, we cannot reach that sense of quiet in which whispers of better things come to us gently’ (Octavia Hill, 1883, Co-founder of the National Trust)

One brisk, but sunny day at the beginning of February, I found myself surrounded by carpets of brilliant white. Looking closer, I could see thousands of delicate flowers, nodding in the breeze like flurries of snow, shaped like bells or little fairy skirts. Here the effervescent snowdrops become a real spectacle at this time of year, shouting loud that the brighter days of spring are on their way.

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With my parents by my side, I had decided to spend my day off exploring Kingston Lacy, a beautiful National Trust estate famous for its incredible annual snowdrop displays. I was really looking forward to this trip, after a long spell of being very busy with work and other projects. It was a time for me to just pause and take a breather in a really breathtaking location.

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We began our day out by passing through the heart of Kingston Lacy, passing by the old stable block, and heading out onto the estate’s approximately 4.7 kilometre woodland trail, made up of established footpaths and historic carriageways. Our start wound us first through a stretch of native deciduous woodland, an area of currently skeletal trees alive with early birdsong.

Habituated to the presence of visitors walking through, we got some really great close-up views of the residents, including red-breasted robins and serenading song thrushes.

The woodland was also sprinkled with human touches here and there, from benches made from old tree trunks to archways of woven hazel. A lovely stretch to hide away from the world, at least for a little while!

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We did not just pass through woodland though. Our journey also took us past Blandford lodge near the entrance to Kingston Lacy, across boardwalks over marshland, and through rolling parkland, dotted with trees varying magnificently in size, species, age and skeletal form. It is quite incredible to think what some of those trees will have lived through in the history of this estate!

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As well, our path took us past the magnificent Kingston Lacy house, a ‘family home reimagined as a Venetian palace’. Though the estate dates back to the medieval times, the first form of the current house was completed in 1667. It went on to be the home of the Bankes family for over 300 years, before being bequeathed to the National Trust in 1981. Though on this February day we did not venture into the house, it is well worth a visit, with the rooms decorated like pieces of art and treasures ranging from ancient Egypt to the Spanish Peninsular War.

As the hours drew on and the sun made its way across the winter sky, our path took us back past the old stables and in the direction of Kingston Lacy’s gradens. Here today’s real magic was to be found. We finally made our way into a world where snowdrops created carpets of snow around us. Stretching along avenues of pollarded trees, across woodland glades, around winding bends, and even nestled within the impressive Japanese gardens.

The pearly white of snowdrops was made bolder by the pinks of cyclamens, purples of irises and crocuses, and cream and maroon of helibores.  Seeing something small on such a scale, over 6 million to be precise, is a sight to behold. First planted in the early 1900s, with now over 40 different species, Kingston Lacy’s snowdrops will be a legacy for future generations to come.

Kingston Lacy is such a lovely place to escape for those of us who like history, nature or just getting outdoors. Throughout the year they have a range of different events, from their snowdrop walks and Easter egg hunts to summer outdoor yoga and outdoor theatre/cinema that will keep you coming back time and time again, as i have over the last couple of months. For now here’s to the snowdrops, the promising pioneers of the new season to come. Pure, hopeful and the symbol of rebirth, snowdrops are the delicate, effervescent heralds of spring.

Golden days of autumn

/ Laura Tuke / Leave a comment

As we ease into the holiday season and creep closer to the closing of the year, it is time to contemplate and reflect, be thankful for what we have, and celebrate what is important to you. Looking outwards during this time, to the world beyond the window, autumn has now also made its departure. Skeletal trees, howling gales, freezing temperatures, and dormancy characterise the landscape, though there are hidden gems to be found. As you cuddle up in your home on this cold winter’s evening, let us now remember back to those golden days of autumn.

Autumn as it happened

When I think of autumn, the first thoughts that come to mind are dazzling colours, falling leaves collecting in drifts on the ground, bountiful fruit, and migrant birds passing through. Though my favourite season tends to be blossoming spring, autumn is a time that is often the favourite of many. Each season has something special to offer and autumn is no different!

This year autumn has been a bit more unpredictable and turbulent in its advancement than many other years, being the 5th wettest english autumn since records began. Despite this, it has mainly progressed in the traditional fashion.

September saw evening temperatures drop, the start of misty mornings with spider webs shining with dew, ripening fruit and nuts, grey squirrels beginning to cache food, the emergence of the first autumn fungi, and the start of birds moving through.

October saw the trees beginning to change, becoming decked out in resplendent colour, fungi in abundance, the buzz of late insects such as wasps and honeybees, goldfinches harvesting seeds from thistles and teasels, fallen acorns becoming available as a valuable food source, the squawks of jays collecting nuts, and by the end of the month most migrants had moved on.

As the season of decline and decay moved on also, November saw oak trees in colour, other trees losing their leaves on mass, cackling fieldfare in the hedgerows, withering bracken, plentiful ripe seeds and fruit, redwings making their return, wildfowl and wading birds settling in for winter, thrushes and blackbirds harvesting fruit, winter flocks forming as they scavenge in bushes and along hedgerows, and lengthening nights.

By the end of November, most of the trees and hedgerows were bare of leaves, conditions were cooler, frost and fog were more common in the mornings, and winter was on its way.

A day in the woods

As part of my celebration of autumn this year, I made a visit to my favourite local woods. On this October trip, I spent time being mindful, capturing the world around me through words and through a lens.

‘As I step into the woods, it is noticeable how the vegetation is beginning to die away, though the ferns still stand sentinel over the woodland floor. Looking closer though, fungi is dotted everwhere. Small capped mushrooms stand only a couple of centimetres tall, whilst larger and more exquisite shapes stand taller and hang from the trunks of trees.

A nuthatch lands on a branch above my head. I look up and see that autumn is already in full swing, with the trees working at different paces, creating a spectacular mosaic of colour from fading greens to copper and gold. The trees are beginning to lose their magnificent mantels in spectacular style. Berries adorn holly and hawthorn bushes, shining scarlet in the strained autumn light.

My other senses are also stimulated. To my nose, the forest smells fresh, though with every step the woodland floor releases an aroma of damp decay and rotting vegetation. On my exposed skin, a gentle cool breeze plays, whilst midges crawl and bite.

My ears are most active though. Long-tailed tits flit from tree to tree around me, making high-pitched calls as they feed as a family, characteristic of autumn. Robins and tits also sing their songs in the trees around, before a wren sounds its alarm call and the other birds join in. Further away, still in the forest, pheasants fight, a collared dove coos, and a jay caws its raucous call as it goes about its way, storing food for winter. Outside of the wood, I can also hear farm sounds along with crows and rooks cawing.

Though the buzz of woodland life is beginning to slow, decay and slip away, the landscape is still full of life.’

Sunlight

The science of autumn

Why do leaves change colour?

  • This process is triggered by changing day length and is sped up by increased sunlight and cooler temperatures. It occurs when pigments, such as chlorophyll, is broken down, and then transported back into the branch. The colour is produced by the remaining degraded pigments in the leaf. Different amounts of pigment left in leaves creates the different colours.

Why do birds migrate?

  • Birds migrate from areas of low or decreasing resources, such as food, to areas of high or increasing resources. It can be triggered by factors such as changes in day length, temperature, or is simply a genetic predisposition. Migration can vary from short within-country movement to long-distance migration. It is still not fully understood how birds navigate during migration, but suggestions include using landmarks or an inbuilt magnetic compass.

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How do mammals survive the winter?

  • A variety of adaptations are used during the winter by different mammal species. They grow longer, thicker coats. increase food intake to produce fat reserves, and create underground nests where they can sleep through colder days. Mammals that find it difficult to cope during the winter, such as those that eat mainly insects, instead slow their body processes down nearly to a stand still to survive. This is called hibernation with common examples being seen in hedgehogs, bats and dormice.

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The end of autumn’s glory

This year’s autumn has been fantastically colourful trees and woodlands, incredible wildlife displays and cliche autumnal moments.

Buzzard and Pheasants

One of my highlights has to be experiencing some of the more interesting migrants that rock up on the British shores during autumn. For me these included wacky wrynecks and marvellous marsh warblers giving some exciting moments.

Now autumn 2019 has come and gone in a blaze of glory, though it was a little wet at times!

Sunset

Sable Island: A Year On

/ Laura Tuke / Leave a comment

This time last year I was settling back into life in the UK following a summer on Sable Island, Canada, and writing all about my incredible experiences on the island. My field season with the feral horses was definitely one of my highlights of last year, intertwined with the completion of a research project on the horses for my Master’s degree.

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A year on, my project has culminated in a prosperous published paper that has sparked my interest in the scientific research world. To celebrate what Sable Island has given me over a great year, I wanted to take a moment to revisit the island that captured my imagination, summarise in more simple terms the research I conducted, and thank all those people that supported me through my Master’s research and the publishing of my journal paper.

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The beginning

It all began at the end of 2017 when I was given the opportunity to study the feral horses living on Sable Island in Canada for my research project, during my time studying my Master’s in Conservation and Biodiversity. My project became a labour of love at a desk for 7 months, collaborating with the Universities of Calgary and Saskatchewan in Canada, before I got the opportunity to visit Sable Island itself and experience my research subjects first hand.

Sable Island and its horses

For those of you who may not have read my ‘Sable Island Stories’ blog series this time last year (check it out), Sable Island National Park Reserve is a large crescent-shaped sandbar situated approximately 156km from the mainland (Nova Scotia, Canada). It was first recorded by European explorers during the early 1500s, and is 49km in length, 1.25km at its widest, and up to 30m in height above sea level.

Sable island’s most renowned residents are a protected, 550+ strong population of feral horses that originate from individuals first released on the island by European travellers during the mid-1700s, and are most closely related to Nordic breeds. This horse population is part of an ongoing long-term individual-based study, called the Sable Island Horse Project, that was started in 2007. It was part of this study that I excitingly got the chance to become involved in.

My 4-5 weeks spent on Sable Island during the field season last year, as part of the Sable Island Horse Project, was such a great experience. On a remote island, in an incredible landscape, with great people, amazing wildlife and a unique atmosphere, was certainly memorable. For more details on life on Sable Island, check out the ‘Life of a Sable Island field researcher’ post from my Sable Island Stories series last year, and get a flavour of what it would be like if you had been there in my shoes.

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My Sable Island foal research

Throughout the completion of my Master’s research project last year, I got incredible support from everyone I know, but many people did not and still do not know what I actually studied for my project. Previously on my blog, I summed up my research project as investigating the genetic basis of foal body size and the potential for it to evolve in the Sable Island horse, but what does this mean though?

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Well to start with it is important to note that within an animal species, a group of individuals will tend to vary in their size, for example some will be larger than others. If this variation in size between individuals is down to genes (DNA), then this variation in body size will be passed on to their offspring i.e. larger individuals will produce larger babies. In many of these populations, body size may also be linked to an individual’s chance of survival, for example larger individuals are often more likely to survive in the wild, due to a range of factors such as decreased predation susceptibility or size of fat reserves. This means that if a certain body size is more likely to be passed on to offspring and these offspring have a higher chance of survival, then the number of individuals with a certain body size will increase within a group over time (more large individuals i.e. evolutionary change).

Me

In my study looking at foal body size in Sable Island horses I looked at what may cause variation in body size between individual foals, and what this could mean for foals on the island. Foal body size was measured using a special piece of equipment consisting of two lasers and a camera attached to a frame, allowing photos to be taken from a distance, and that could then be used to calculate reliable body size measurements.

Laser standard

Using data collected between 2012 and 2016, I found that in foals on Sable Island, body size is highly variable between individuals, with a lot of the variation being down to genes rather than maternal care or the environment (i.e. more determined by the foals themselves). I found though, that body size does not determine if a foal will survive their first winter on the island, meaning other factors are more influential.

The most interesting result from my project was that body size was found to differ between male and female foals on Sable Island, with smaller body size being more optimal for male foals and larger body size being more optimal for female foals, which was less expected. Despite a difference, female and male foals are not evolving to become larger and smaller on Sable Island. This is due to what is known as sexually-antagonistic selection, with a strong genetic correlation between male and female foal body size stopping change occurring.

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My paper

Following on from my Sable Island research and a great mark for my Master’s project, I got the opportunity to turn my work into an academic paper and for it to be published in the journal of Evolutionary Ecology. This was down to my great Master’s supervisor Jocelyn Poissant and extremely hard working post-doc Charlotte Regan. If you are interested, my paper is called ‘Evolutionary quantitative genetics of juvenile body size in a population of feral horses reveals sexually antagonistic selection’.

Thanks

Huge thanks are obviously due to Jocelyn and Charlotte, but I would also like to thank the other academics that have contributed to my published paper, and more importantly to ALL the people that have supported me through this chapter of my research career. Additionally, thank you to Sable Island and its feral horses!

Sunset with seal

 

Disclaimer: All horse photos (from wide shots to zoomed in) were taken from at least the minimum of 20m away from the subject(s) as specified in the Parks Canada permit

 

A Wild Adventure to Richmond Park

/ Laura Tuke / Leave a comment

In a green oasis surrounded by urban jungle, ancient trees stand as sentinels. They have watched over this space for centuries, watching as time and history passes by. Some have even stood in this spot for over 800 years, growing taller whilst a wall was raised, royals hunted deer, and a city grew up around its edges. As a busy metropolis hums and pulses at its borders, this park rolling on for 2,500 acres, has lain timeless for centuries. It now continues to capture the hearts and minds of the millions of visitors that step through its walls every year.

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Nestled in the south-west of London, Richmond Park stands as London’s largest Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Grade One Heritage Landscape, with even the Royal Ballet School and a royal residence within its walls. This impressive park first came to my attention last year when I was given the book ‘Park Life: The Memoirs of a Royal Parks Gamekeeper’ written by John Bartram. This book recounts the author’s 30 years working and living within the bubble of Richmond Park. Sparking my imagination, it was his story that inspired in me the desire to make my day trip to his beloved Richmond.

On a hot, but grey autumn day in early September, I made my trek to Richmond Park, with the company of my aunt by my side to guide my path. Starting at the Roehampton Gate in the north-east of the upside-down pentagon-shaped park, we set a route to allow us to take in a range of beautiful habitats, incredible wildlife and the character of this impressive landscape.

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Our first steps took us south, hugging the 2km of river that winds down the east side of the park, known as the Beverley Brook. This river for a time became our birdwatching paradise, filling us with excitement with every stretch. We saw everything from a family of long-tailed tits feeding, fish swimming in the shallows, a spotted flycatcher doing its iconic hunting routine, and a bedraggled juvenile kestrel, to a pair of resting mandarin ducks, a tree creeping tree creeper, the flash of yellow of a chiffchaff, and a grey wagtail wagging. With around 100 bird species having been recorded in the park, we could not wish for more fantastic species to start our walk.

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Moving on from the river, we then headed into the heart of the parkland. With Richmond also being a Special Area of Conservation, the park is home to over a thousand ancient trees; over 1300 species of beetle including iconic stag beetles; at least 9 species of bat; and a range of habitat types including acid grassland, bogs, and 30 ponds. It is truly an incredible space that feels isolated from the rest of the outside world. With every step you can spot another butterfly species, discover a whole host of plants, spot a range of bird species from green woodpeckers to wheatears, and simply escape everyday life.

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Our journey through the park also took us through the middle of the Pen Ponds which were filled with a myriad of bird species. This ranged from coots to black-headed gulls, tufted ducks to greylag geese, and moorhens to little egrets. With drama unfolding in front of us with every sight, we got to see gulls mobbing late nesting grebes, ducks competing for food, and birds flying low overhead, whilst getting the closest views of great-crested grebes that I have ever had!

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Though Richmond Park is home to many amazing species, it is the majestic beasts with sleek coats and antlers standing heavy on their heads, that are the star attraction for millions of visitors each year. The Park is home to about 300 red and 300 fallow deer, and these deer are most popular during their impressive autumn spectacle of rutting. Of course during my journey through the park, my aunt and I came across many of the red deer impressive with their bare antlers, and watched them in awe from a far. These deer were very much a main part of John Bartram’s 30 years in Richmond Park as a Park ranger.

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As I neared the end of my adventures in Richmond Park for one day, it was evident that though my few hours of escapism were great, you could also easily lose yourself in Richmond Park for days, or in the case of John Bartram, years. It was easy to understand how he spent 4 decades hidden away working and living within this park. Its a place which has something for everyone, with everything from open space and incredible landscapes to amazing wildlife and cafes! For me, seeing 44 species of bird in a short space of time was my highlight. When beautiful places such as this can be found on your doorstep, what more could you want?

Barn Owls in the depths of Dorset

/ Laura Tuke / Leave a comment

Floating above the ground on silent wings. A white ghost standing out against the murky dark of dusk. Swooping to a stop on a standing post. Watching, waiting, listening for a rustle in the grass, before moving on. The reticent guardian of twilight. – Original piece

A graceful and beautiful bird, the barn owl is one species that captures the hearts and the imaginations of people across Britain. Over the last century, barn owls have been on a rocky journey, showing a decline in numbers in line with agricultural improvement, before reaching stabilisation during the more recent decades. Though they are showing signs of adapting to our changing landscape, this iconic species still needs our help and protection.

The start of my very own relationship with barn owls began with the creation of this Wild World blog. During summer 2015, my earliest posts trace my first up close and personal experiences with barn owls, which at the time were breeding on my family’s land in Dorset. The two owls that feature in these posts met with tragedy though; a failed breeding attempt and mysterious disappearance. Despite a not quite expected outcome, summer 2015 was just the start of an ever growing love affair for my family and these majestic birds.

With my dad incorporating wildlife into his land management plans over the last decade, his work has now culminated in 2019 being the best year yet for barn owls on our land. We had not one, but two successful breeding pairs this year, with both fledging two chicks each, at about 2 weeks apart. One pair nested in our own barn owl box, whilst the other made their home in a hollow of a tree at the heart of our land.

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Excitingly, these breeding attempts also coincided with the Dorset County Council’s Barn Owl project. As a result fully licensed ringers approached us with the request of checking any barn owl nests on our land, which led to all four chicks produced this year being ringed. They can now importantly be a part of the conservation efforts for monitoring this species in the wild.

Barn Owl Chick

Owl chick from tree roost

Reflecting on this year with this incredible species, it is exciting to be able to now see how successful they have been in our area during 2019, gradually increasing in number. It is interesting to think now that maybe one day one of the ringed chicks could go on to nest on our land or in our area in the future, or even venture further afield. Here’s to the hope that our barn owl population will continue to thrive and be even more successful next year, and give us more heartstopping experiences! What will another 4 years bring?

How spring happened 2017-2019

/ Laura Tuke / Leave a comment

Over the last few years, I have taken part in recording how spring has unfurled at my home in Dorset, for a citizen science scheme. As at the end of each spring I upload my results to an online site, in 2017 I decided that I should be writing my observations down for myself in my wildlife journal, making it easy to look back on them in the future.

Now I have recorded dates for many different wildlife spring events, from trees coming into leaf to the return of migrants, for 2017, 2018, and 2019. So here, I want to take a moment to look back at these and reflect on what they may show about spring and its current emergence, and if there is anything interesting we can take from this.

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Trees

In my local area, you can find a large variety of native and non-native tree species. Over the last 3 years, I have consistently made observations for 5 tree species: ash, sycamore, horse chestnut, pedunculate oak and silver birch.

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For the 5 tree species, some similar patterns can be observed from my recorded spring dates for the last 3 years. In 2018, a colder winter was experienced, with heavy snowfalls taking place in January, February and March. Evidently this had an effect on the timing of budburst, first leaf and first flowering for tree species, in comparison to the year before.

Budburst was 36 days later for ash trees (27/04/18), 10 days later for sycamore trees (08/04/18), 19 days later for horse chestnut trees (20/03/18), 21 days later for oak trees (18/04/18), and 26 days later for silver birch trees (12/04/18). The same amount of lateness was also seen with the first leaf and first flowering for these tree species in 2018.

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Due to the weather of spring 2018, this meant that when looking at how this year’s spring unfurled (2019) in comparison to last year, predictably budburst, first leaf and first flowering took place 4-53 days earlier than 2018. When comparing 2019 with 2017 though, I am able to get an idea of the average trend for the three years. For example, ash and silver birch events are getting later, as are horse chestnut flowering and sycamore first leaf. Sycamore, horse chestnut and oak generally show a trend though of spring events getting earlier, from a couple of days to a month.

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Shrubs

For shrubs, the selection I have been observing during spring each year are: blackthorn, dog rose, elder, hawthorn and lilac. From 2017-2019, a similar trend was predominantly observed in these species as with tree species.

In comparison to 2017, blackthorn first flowering was 14 days later in 2018 (30/03/18), elder budburst was 9 days later (13/03/18), elder first leaf was 23 days later (30/03/18) , hawthorn budburst was 33 days later (02/04/18), hawthorn first leaf was 6 days later (08/04/18), and lilac first flowering was 27 days later (07/05/18).

Then when looking at 2019, spring dates were earlier in comparison to 2018, with blackthorn budburst, first leaf and first flowering being 20, 9 and 29 days earlier, dog rose budburst, first leaf and first flowering being 22 and 29 days earlier, elder budburst, first leaf and first flowering being 9, 24 and 8 days earlier, hawthorn budburst and first flowering being 36 and 13 days earlier, and lilac first flowering being 14 days earlier.

Also, similarly to tree species, blackthorn and elder both showed that from 2017 to 2019 spring events have become earlier on average. Hawthorn and lilac showed the opposite trend though, with hawthorn first leaf and first flowering becoming later over the 3 years on average, if only by 7-13 days.

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Flowers 

In comparing spring between 2017, 2018 and 2019, it is evident that for many plant species the same trends have been shown from year to year. This is not true for all though, as between bluebells, cuckooflowers, lesser celandines, oxeye daisies, snowdrops and wood anemones, flowering times varied from being later in 2018 and earlier in 2019, to being earlier overall, or being similar overall.

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  • Bluebells flowered 17 days later in 2018 (13/04/18) than 2017, and then 10 days earlier in 2019 compared to 2018. From 2017 to 2019, this was 7 days later overall.
  • Cuckooflowers flowered 16 days later in 2018 (20/04/18) than 2017, and then 12 days earlier in 2019 compared to 2018. From 2017 to 2019, this was 4 days later overall.
  • Lesser celandines flowered 5 days earlier from 2017 to 2018 (24/02/18), followed by another 13 days earlier in 2019.
  • Snowdrops flowered 10 days earlier from 2017 to 2018 (10/01/18), followed by another 7 days earlier in 2019.
  • Wood anemones flowered around a similar date at the beginning of March each year.

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  • Oxeye daisies flowered around a similar date at the end of May each year.

Grasses

Grass species also showed a differing trend to tree and shrub species for 2017-2019, with a united pattern of flowering later each year. When observing spring events with grasses, I observe from year to year 4 species: cocksfoot, meadow foxtail, timothy, and yorkshire fog.

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Only timothy had observations made for 2017, and so in comparing with 2018, it was found to have flowered 18 days later (18/05/18). This is in line with comparisons between 2018 and 2019, where it was found that cocksfoot flowered 4 days later (30/05/19), meadow foxtail flowered 14 days later (15/05/19), timothy flowered 23 days later (10/06/19), and yorkshire fog flowered 14 days later (12/06/19).

Birds

Though I have started increasing my recordings of different bird species during spring, I only have records for 2+ years for rooks, blackcaps, chiffchaffs, house martins, song thrushes, cuckoos, and swallows.

  • Following the first snowfall of the year, rooks were first seen to be nest building 16 days earlier in 2018 (04/02/18) than 2017, but with no snow, this was 11 days later in 2019.
  • Blackcaps returned to my local area 12 days later in 2018 (11/04/18) than 2017.
  • Chiffchaffs returned 13 days later in 2018 (26/03/18) than 2017, following the last of the snow and cold weather. Consequently, in 2019 they returned 8 days earlier than 2019 (15/02/19), closer to the 2017 date.
  • House martins returned 12 days later in 2018 (25/05/18) than 2017, whilst being 31 days earlier in 2019 than 2018.
  • Male song thrushes were first heard singing in 2018 on 28/01/18, 8 days earlier than 2017. In 2019, this occurred a lot earlier though, 30 days earlier, falling on 29/12/18.
  • Male cuckoo heard calling at a similar time at the end of May in 2018 and 2019.
  • Swallows returned to my local area at a similar time at the end of March/beginning of April in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Insects

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In line with tree and shrub species, the first sightings recorded each spring of insects followed a general pattern of emerging later in 2018 than 2017, and earlier in 2019 than 2018. This was true for:

  • Brimstone butterflies – 13 days later on 14th April 2018 and 47 days earlier on 26th February 2019
  • Peacock butterflies – 14 days later on 20th April 2018 and 26 days earlier on 25th March 2019
  • Small tortoiseshell butterflies – 31 days later on 26th April 2018 and 25 days earlier on 1st April 2019
  • Speckled wood butterflies – 20 days later on 26th April 2018 and 4 days earlier on 22nd April 2019
  • Orange tip butterflies – 28 days later on 4th May 2018 and 33 days earlier on 1st April 2019
  • Red admiral butterflies – 27 days earlier on 22nd April 2019 
  • 7-spot ladybirds – 19 days later on 25th April 2018
  • Queen wasps – 47 days earlier on 31st March 2019
  • Red-tailed bumblebees – 13 days earlier on 21st April 2019

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Summary

With my love of spring, each year I have enjoyed recording the dates of when things happen during spring, such as the first swallow, first leaf or first elder flower. It has been satisfying now to be able to take a moment to put a few of my records together and take a look at how spring has unfurled over the last few years and what this could mean.

For some species, events are getting earlier, probably due to warmer temperatures earlier on in the year and during the winter before. For others, they are in fact getting later, which will be related to other weather and environmental factors here and further afield. Either way, the ‘norm’ is changing and it will be interesting to see how this could progress over the next few years to come.

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