Butterfly, bird and budburst bonanza

Fluttering butterflies, feeding on flowers conjure up images of warm spring and long summer days, and this month four of the butterflies monitored by Nature’s Calendar* will start to appear. Seeing them creates a sense of optimism, which is heart-warming when you think about the different ways they’ve made it through the winter.The orange-brown comma and the lemony-yellow brimstone hibernated in sheltered spaces where their underwing patterns camouflaged them perfectly. For the comma that’s in tree hollows or log piles; for the brimstone it’s inside ivy and dense foliage. They’ll start to emerge when the days warm up, and last year brimstones were first seen 34 days earlier than the 2001 benchmark year.[gallery type="slideshow" size="full" ids="8174,8173,6179,5897"]Two garden favourites have a different approach. The small white spent the winter as a pupa stuck to the stem of a plant, while the red admiral enjoyed the warmth of North Africa and central Europe. Red admirals are starting to overwinter in southern England, but the majority migrate, and last year they were first seen 36 days earlier than the benchmark year.

Butterfly friendly habitats

Fossil evidence dates butterflies to the Palaeocene, 56 million years ago, but there was a 55% decrease between 1999 and 2015. Loss of habitats and food sources play a part, because native butterflies feed in a 100 –200 metre radius from their home and take several generations to move to a new one. The comma is one butterfly that's  bucked this trend. A century ago it was a rare sight, confined to the few areas where hops were grown. But the caterpillars have changed their diet to nettles and they've spread across the UK. That’s why Fingle volunteers patiently record the butterflies living here. The information is used to create open canopies and clearings that improve light levels, create butterfly corridors and increase the range of flowering food.

Busy birds

Soon, you’ll be able to hear the chiffchaff singing out its name as it returns from southern Europe and north Africa. They breed in mature, open woodland with dense undergrowth, and you can see them flitting through the trees in Fingle. Their call will be joined by the fluting song of the blackcap, also known as the ‘northern’ or ‘mock nightingale’. A visitor from Germany and north-east Europe, the blackcap is starting to overwinter here, taking advantage of the wide range of bird food we put out.[gallery type="slideshow" size="full" ids="8147,8148"]Further afield two birds are returning from Africa. Social sand martins live in colonies of more than a hundred pairs and can be found along riverbanks, where at only 12 cm long, you can see them swooping in search of insects. Named from the old English whiteers (whit /white and ers /arse) after its white rump, the wheatear is also known as chickells in Devon. You can see this ground dwelling bird on Dartmoor where it likes to nest in stone walls or rock piles.

Gradual greening

Throughout Fingle they’ll be a gradual greening of the deciduous trees as they come into budburst and first leaf. Last year all 11 species monitored by Nature’s Calendar came into budburst and first leaf earlier than the benchmark year. You’ll be able to see ash and beech, as well as the English pedunculate oak and the sessile oak come into budburst. Alder, field maple, horse chestnut, rowan and sycamore will come into first leaf and the silver birch will move through budburst, first leaf and flowering all in one month. Unusual among this new growth is the European larch, a conifer that drops its needles in winter and develops soft needle like leaves in the spring.Click on the link to watch the English oak budburst https://youtu.be/xJegxaEaPz4

Early flowers

Star shaped wood anemone flowers are a sign of ancient woodlands and bloom early, when the leafless canopy lets in the spring light. A member of the buttercup family, the Romans picked the flowers as a lucky charm to prevent fevers. Also known as windflower, in folklore they were fairy homes, which is why the petals close at night and droop to protect the fairies from the cold rain.[gallery type="slideshow" size="full" ids="8175,8149"]Another early flower is cuckooflower which is also known as lady’s smock, milkmaids and fairy flower after the cupped shape of the pale pink flowers. You can see them in damp grasslands, along riverbanks and around ponds.

What you can see in your garden

You may not be able to get out as much as you’d like at the moment, and here are some of the spring changes to look out for in your gardens. Birds are getting busier: blue tits and great tits will be building their nests, while blackbirds will start feeding their young. Seven spot ladybirds, who’ve spent the winter hibernating among plants or in our sheds will start to emerge and mate from now until May and were first seen 34 days earlier than the benchmark year. Their name symbolises the ‘lady’ (the Virgin Mary), her red coat and their spots represent her seven joys and sorrows You can find out more about what’s been seen this year on the Nature’s Calendar website.By Jane Halliday*Nature’s Calendar is a citizen science project run by the Woodland Trust and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology to study phenology (the impact of seasonal changes in plants and animals). Referenceshttps://butterfly-conservation.org/https://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/dartmoor-flora-and-faunahttps://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/animals/birds/https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/animals/butterflies/