Do you ever get the feeling that the grass is greener on the other side? Probably not if you live here in Suffolk (or many other parts of SE England) this spring as the continued lack of rain makes most grassy areas look increasingly yellow, so the chances are that your neighbour's lawn will be just as "dead" as yours. No doubt they'll recover as soon as we get some rain - whenever that will be - so please don't be tempted to water the lawn. We need to preserve every bit of water we can to avoid severe problems later in the year. Watering the garden has been a nightly chore for a month already, and farmers are rightly concerned about the impact on their crops.
Now put yourself in the place of our wildlife. The dry weather is much more than an inconvenience. It can be a matter of life or death. Birds such as swallows and house martins are really struggling to find enough mud to construct their nests - and even then the nests often dry out and collapse. Blackbirds, robins and thrushes cannot easily find worms, slugs and snails in parched, rock-hard soil. And waterbirds will inevitably find it harder to feed as the summer progresses.
Many flowers have bloomed earlier and more profusely than usual. While great to look at, this is not necessarily beneficial for two reasons. First, it may mean they miss coinciding with key pollinators such as bees and hoverflies. Second, some fruit blossoms have fallen from the trees without properly setting seed, while a lack fo rain will further inhibit fruit production.
Warm sunny weather should be good for insects, but for the butterflies whose caterpillars depend on grasses for food, the lack of lush green grass will be a problem. Similarly, this causes increasing problems for livestock - we're already having to more cattle, sheep and ponies to new areas in the search for "fresh" grazing - and provide them with bowsers of water.
As birdwatchers, we often feel the grass is greener elsewhere too. How many times have you heard the following phrases (or similar): "you should been here ten minutes ago," "they were showing really well yesterday," or "have you heard what's at place x."
Having been away for a week, then in meetings much of this week so far, I've missed a few good birds at Minsmere in the last two weeks: a long-staying but usually elusive purple heron (still here yesterday), osprey, red-rumped swallow, five spoonbills, more red kites for example. That's one of the hazards of going away in May.
Still, I'm not going to complain about missing such goodies this time. I was, after all, leading a tour in Poland where were treated to many spectacular birds, insects, plants and views, and some great food. Here's a quick selection of what I did see:
One outstanding memory of this trip was just how common song thrushes and spotted flycatchers are in eastern Poland, especially given how difficult it is for us find these gorgeous birds. Equally, although tree sparrows and yellowhammers are easier to find than in much of the UK, there did seem to be a marked and worrying decline in abundance of some other farmland species since my last trip ten years ago, especially grey partridge and corn bunting which we failed to find this time. I hope this is not a sign of the "progress" of EU agricultural subsidies.
Once written, a full report for this trip will be posted on the Honeyguide Wildlife Holidays website.
If anyone wants to experience one of Europe's finest birdwatching experiences, I highly recommend a trip to Poland in May. You won't regret it.