News archive

Thursday, 27 January 2011

Nature Notes - January 2011

The sun is shining and it seems that the worst of the winter weather is now over and it is the time to start looking forward to the spring. It seems a long while ago that we were anticipating waxwings and bitterns and they did not disappoint! In fact it seems that now there is little exciting happening in the countryside but our resident birds are beginning to sing proclaiming their territories and it will not belong before the first butterflies will taking to the air, the first red admiral has been seen in Cornwall! I expect the first brimstone in the next month, locally on any warm spell we might have.

Reflecting on the previous winter, it is the first time for a long while that chiffchaffs have not been noticed on a regular basis. Have they been wiped out or pushed south? The usual birds that suffer in bad winters will have a hard time in the past winter, dartford warblers, cettis warblers, wrens will all have been affected but to what extent is still unknown.

One bird that I have noticed to be missing from its usual local haunts is the mistle thrush, by now their beautiful song is usually heard but as yet nothing! Song thrushes are singing but no mistle thrushes, they can usually cope with our hard winters but have they been put under extra pressure from the large numbers of waxwings?

Now is also the time when we start to go in to the garden and to tidy, but spare a thought for all the insects that have that have endured the winter and are starting to become active. Do not be too diligent and leave a few rubbish piles for them, because the numbers of insects determines how our birds will fare in their breeding season ahead. There will also be moth and possible butterfly pupa in piles of leaves and stalks and remember, no snails no song thrushes!

Good websites are www.buglife.org.uk and www.butterfly-conservation.org

RO