March Winds and April Showers

"March winds and April showers

bring forth May flowers"

So says the old folk rhyme, and it's a couplet that has double meaning as I write this. March did indeed deliver some fairly ferocious winds, especially at the end of the Easter weekend, which sadly did a great deal of damage in the arboretum. Now we are halfway through April and enjoying our fair share of showers but also some beautiful warm sunshine and temperatures in the high teens celsius in recent days. April this year also brings with it new opportunity as I am leaving Winkworth and moving on to pastures new. It's been a great experience getting to know the arboretum and its wildlife these past couple of years, and I hope you've enjoyed reading my ramblings about the things I've seen when I've been out and about.

So, for the final time - from me at least - here's a round-up of what's been happening at Winkworth in the past few weeks...

Oak leaves emerging - Matt Phelps

In the three weeks since my previous blog post winter has well and truly given way to spring and everything is bursting in to life around the arboretum. Birdsong is increasing all the time, with more and more Chiffchaffs each day since late March, while the first Blackcaps and Willow Warblers were heard on 30th March and 4th April respectively - both exactly a year to the day since their arrivals in 2015. The winter visitors have more or less all departed now, with just the odd Brambling still around in the first week of April. My first Winkworth Swallows of the year were two flying purposefully north high above the gardeners' yard on 3rd April, while early on the 10th I heard my first Cuckoo of the year, giving its distinctive two note song just up the valley from the arboretum.

Blackcap - Ann Jacobs

Blue Tit - Ann Jacobs

Many of our resident birds are now busying themselves with nest building, like the Treecreepers which are again taking up residence in the wall of the boathouse as they did last year.

Down on Rowe's Flashe Lake we have already seen the first Mallard ducklings of the year - a clutch of a dozen appeared on 7th April.

Treecreeper on the boathouse wall - Ann Jacobs

Robin - Ann Jacobs

Nuthatch - Ann Jacobs

Mallard duckling - Ann Jacobs

Also of note on Rowe's Flashe recently have been occasional Pochard (there was a pair present on the 4th), up to half a dozen Little Grebes, the now fairly regular Bar-headed Goose, plus the rather odd-looking Canada/Greylag hybrid which appeared last week.

Canada x Greylag Goose - Matt Phelps

Little Grebe - Ann Jacobs

Butterflies are starting to be seen more regularly now, particularly in the warm sunshine this past week. I've noted Peacock, Brimstone and Comma at Winkworth recently, while I've seen Orange-tip, Holly Blue, Small Tortoiseshell and Speckled Wood elsewhere locally this week, so it's only a matter of time and good weather before they take to the wing in the arboretum too.

Anyway, back to the flowers I mentioned in my opening paragraph. In addition to the glorious displays of Magnolia, Camellia and Cherry, the resident wild flowers are beginning to put on a great show of their own. Here's a few that Ann Jacobs and I have photographed here recently.

Ramsons - Matt Phelps

Red Campion - Matt Phelps

Bluebells - Matt Phelps

Common Dog-violet - Matt Phelps

Wood Anemone - Ann Jacobs

Wood Sorrel - Ann Jacobs

Marsh Marigold - Ann Jacobs

And that's it from me! Thanks for reading, and do get over to Winkworth soon if you haven't visited recently or at all - it really does look particularly wonderful at this time of year.

Spring hues along the Spring Walk - Matt Phelps

Honey bee and cherry blossom - Ann Jacobs

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February at Winkworth: some recent photos

Less words and more photos is the theme of this blog post, as there's not been a massive amount of new wildlife sightings to report since my previous post.

Worth a mention though are the seven Red-legged Partridge which were in Rowe's Flashe Meadow early on the 10th Feb - the highest count I've seen at Winkworth to date. Then on the 13th I was lucky enough to witness two Stoats scurrying around the gardeners' bonfire and compost area, just up the slope from the viewing platform. They were in view for several minutes and it was wonderful to watch them running about and diving in and out of the various piles of logs and things. Just typical I didn't have my camera to hand at that moment!

Luckily, both I and volunteer Ann have had chance to get out in the arboretum with our cameras recently though, and here's a selection of photos from the past couple of weeks.

Singing Robin - Matt Phelps

Long-tailed Tit - Ann Jacobs

Song Thrush - Matt Phelps

Grey Heron - Ann Jacobs

Hazel catkins - Ann Jacobs

Cherry blossom - Ann Jacobs

Ribes sanguineum (flowering currant) - Matt Phelps

Daffodils - Matt Phelps

Willow catkin (presumed Salix laevigata) - Matt Phelps

Buzzards, bees and butterflies... Early Spring at Winkworth

Meteorologically speaking, March 1st marks the beginning of Spring and so far the month has been largely dry with some very pleasant days indeed, the mercury rising to 14c on the 7th.

Looking across Rowe's Flashe Lake

The increasingly warm sunshine has seen seasonal changes moving at a pace at Winkworth, with signs of Spring springing up all over the place, and something new to see or hear every day.

In the upper arboretum a pair of Jackdaws have been busy building a nest in a chimney on Fox Cottage, and Blue and Great Tits have been seen inspecting nestboxes around and about.

At Rowe’s Flashe Lake, the Mandarin Ducks have been displaying, and the pair of Little Grebes are also still around. A Kingfisher has been seen intermittently, most recently on the morning of the 12th.

The 12th also saw the first singing Chiffchaff of the season, in the Carlotta Glade – another surefire sign that warmer days are on the way!

A pair of Marsh Tits are often to be seen or heard in the Phillimore Wetland where they were very vocal on the 11th. Bramblings were heard in or over the upper arboretum on the 4th, 8th and 12th.

Birds of prey too are taking advantage of the improving weather, with several Buzzards and Sparrowhawks regularly seen and heard soaring overhead on the rising thermals. Red Kites were seen on the 7th and the 10th. On the 13th a Raven briefly alighted on a Scots Pine in the upper arboretum.

Common Buzzard on the lookout

Another sight that always lifts the spirits at this time of year is catching that first unmistakeable glimpse of a bright yellow male Brimstone butterfly fluttering around in the sunshine. The Brimstone is one of the five of our butterfly species to overwinter, the males emerging on the first warm days of the year – usually in March but sometimes earlier - to find and mate with the females. The first such sighting in the arboretum was on 7th March, flying around the Rhododendrons near the tea room, followed by another in Magnolia Wood on the 11th. Other butterfly sightings this month have included Small Tortoiseshell on the 10th, Comma on the 12th and Red Admiral on the 11th and 12th.

Comma (Polygonia c-album)

Red Admiral

Bumblebees, Hoverflies and Solitary and Honey Bees are also becoming more active. Look and listen out for them buzzing about around the arboretum – Prunus ‘Okame’ on the eastern edge of Magnolia Wood is proving particularly popular at the moment – here’s an Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) enjoying the blossom.

Eristalis sp. Hoverfly on Rhododendron (thanks to eyorksbirding for the identification help on this one)

Look out also for the various wild flowers beginning to bloom around the arboretum, such as Lesser Celandine, Dog Violets and Colt's-foot (pictured below)

As I said earlier, Spring is well and truly springing!

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Signs of Spring?

A visitor to Winkworth this week might be forgiven for wondering if they'd inadvertently slept through Winter and woken up in early Spring as there are, incredibly, Daffodils already beginning to flower around the upper arboretum. The daffs here are an early variety, but not usually this early! Similarly unseasonal is the cherry just in front of the owl bench viewpoint - Prunus 'Accolade' - which usually flowers in April!