Looking back over my nature notebooks from the last few years,, the first week of April usually produces peacock, holly blue, small tortoiseshell and orange tip butterflies, early and buff-tailed bumble bees and carder bees in the garden, closely followed by red admirals, green-veined whites, speckled woods, white-tailed and red-tailed bumble bees and communal mining bees. Everything is coming alive again, and I greet every newly appearing species like a long-lost friend.
Summer migrants will be arriving in force this month and the steadily singing chiffchaffs will be joined by willow warblers, wood warblers, redstarts and pied flycatchers in the county’s woodlands. It’s a great time to get up and out early to listen for new voices joining the dawn chorus – the choir will be swelling with new members almost daily. Swallows and house martins will be arriving en masse – look out for them over water or cattle pastures. The sand martins arrived in March and are busy at their nest sites already. April brings the first hobbies too; these neat little moustachio’d falcons follow the hirundines which form an important part of their diet. I’ll be looking out for them at Whixall Moss. By the end of the month there might be cuckoos calling there too – the Mosses are one of the most dependable places to hear these iconic spring voices now.
With the nesting season getting into full swing, you can help your garden birds though this demanding time. High quality nutrient-rich bird food can make a huge difference to them. You might also offer a calcium-rich supplement such as fine shell grit or cuttlefish bone. A blue tit, producing a large clutch of relatively thick-shelled eggs, needs to find more calcium for its eggshells than is present in its entire little skeleton! Nesting material can be provided too – I find that the hair left in the brush from grooming horses or dogs, or even my own hairbrush, is popular. Bundled up, it can be put out in the sort of cage you would use for fatballs. Children love to see their offerings carried off by the garden birds to provide a cosy home for their families! If the weather turns dry and you have house martins building, it’s worth making muddy puddles to help them with their construction.
Garden ponds will be full of life too. Frog and toad spawn will be hatching tadpoles, and it’s a good time to take a bright torch out at night to see if you can spot any newts Their eggs are much harder to spot than the other amphibians, each one being wrapped individually in an underwater leaf, but the adult newts’ nocturnal activities will tell you whether they’re breeding in your pond. If you’re at Wood Lane reserve this month it’s worth keeping an eye on the water there too – once the water temperature is above about 18o the carp start to spawn, providing quite a spectacle around the gravel island opposite Heron Hide – so many great scaly backs heaving above the surface of the water in a frenzied mass!
With your wildlife garden coming to life, and warmer days and longer evenings tempting you out, think about providing nectar plants for pollinators. Remember those bee cafés we made a few years ago? Time for some more! Even a pot, tub or window-box planted with carefully chosen species will give a boost to the bees. Herbs such as thyme, rosemary, marjoram, lavender and chives grow well in containers, are good pollen sources and useful in the kitchen too. If you can grow your own pollen-rich flowers from seed, or beg cuttings from friends and neighbours, you’ll not only save money; you’ll also be sure your plants haven’t been sprayed or dosed with any inappropriate chemicals before you even get them. If you have to buy plants from a garden centre, please make sure you ask the staff whether their stock is treated with pesticide – you don’t want to inadvertently poison the very bees you’re trying to help!
Above all, though, make time to get out in the wild and feel the benefit of spring sunshine in the great outdoors. If you need an excuse, it’s officially good for you!