Signs of Spring

 I only went back to work for the morning and ran an activity looking for signs of spring.

Being away 2 weeks has made a difference - hawthorn nearly fully out, nettles at ankle height and blackthorn blossom everywhere.

On our walk we turned a few logs to look for activity. The first thing we found was a pair of palmate newts  They are the smallest of our 3 native species and are generally associated with more acidic waterbodies. They are quite easy to sex in the breeding season as the male has webbed hind feet and a filament (hair like structure) at the end of his tail.

A few logs later we uncovered something that I don’t think I have seen before - a female earwig with an egg nursery. It is unusual for an insect to stay and care for its young but earwigs not only guard their eggs but apparently lick them to keep them free of mould. 

Incidentally, the pincers or forceps at the rear end of an earwig are mainly used to assist with wing folding!

Lots of woodland birds were in evidence, mainly through song.

I was told that you should aim to learn about 6 different bird songs & calls each year so I’m hoping to increase my knowledge in the spring. Once you know them it becomes a lot easier to to work out what species are present without needing to see them Nuthatches and great tits were particularly evident.

We also found a nibbled hazelnut which I need to have a good look at to see if it points towards dormice. After seeing a possible nest a couple of years ago we have been putting nest tubes up but no luck so far.