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HAWTHORNE leafage in February! |  | | •
THE female flower of hazel resembles a sea anemone! |  | | •
ALEXANDERS, an early flowering umbellifer. |  | | •
HAZELcatkins. |
Early sightings NATURE
NOTES BY STEWART BEER Email: stewart.naturalist@btinternet.com
WITH
global warming - a consequence of humankinds' technological advances - now a reality
our wildlife guide books will require frequent updating, as species after species
appear earlier or later in the year. I previously mentioned the several
wildflowers that have been flowering, including primrose, lesser celandine, red
valerian and alexanders. On February 20 I added green alkanet and greater stitchwort
to my list of early openers!
Hawthorn leaves have been unfurling for over
a week now and, for a similar length of time, many blackthorns have been in bloom.
The buff-tailed bumblebees have also been active throughout the winter months.
Many other insects have also appeared earlier than in the past. (I saw my first
seven spot ladybird on the February 20) Resident birds such as the dunnock
and blackbird have been a-wooing potential mates within the past fortnight and
freshly paired rooks are half-way through nest construction. On February 24 I
watched a wren seeking food in my garden. Suddenly, from the base of the periwinkle
plant it plucked a long, smooth-skinned green coloured caterpillar and, after
a few minutes of struggle, managed to swallow it whole. Also that day a starling
was observed nest site prospecting and a wood pigeon sitting in its twig platform
of a nest …
Although collared doves breed practically all the year
round, a pair that were sitting eggs in a twig nest, exposed in the bare boughs
of the hawthorn tree standing - aptly - in front of the Ladywell Baby Unit, on
the last day of January, still rather surprised me! Contact Stewart
Beer at: stewart.naturalist@btinternet.com
•
Stewart’s anthology An Exaltation of Skylarks, now with four
colour plates added, is published by SMH Books ISBN 0 9512619 7 5. It can be ordered
from all good bookshops.
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