Nature Blog by Jenny Bourne

March winds and rain and more rain have given way to April showers and more rain, with a few bright days among the grey skies!

Spring is in the air! March has so far brought a fairly ‘normal’ mix of rain, breezy winds, cool, overcast days, and a few pleasant spells of mild spring sunshine to break what feels like an interminably wet, dull and grey early season. The recent warmer temperatures have brought out the insects to forage, as well as other primary and pressing activities displayed by a couple of pairs of ladybirds last week – a ‘Get a room’ moment!

Goodbye to the warmest and wettest February on record, for our part of the UK, at least. The water gauge was overflowing a fortnight ago and since then there’s been so much rain…
But good news in the pond with one big frogspawn…

A February day of unseasonally warm sun (17o!) brought out the first butterfly; large queen bumbles and honey bees were out searching for early forage and the bees in the apiary were all in full buzz around their hives.

It can be easy these days to feel despondent about the plight of wildlife and the natural environment, with news of sharp declines in bird, insect, mammal, amphibean and other species UK and internationally. The message in last year’s fourth ‘State of the Nation’ report is stark: