April Delights (Part 1)

Spring has officially sprung

Spring is in full swing in my garden, I can’t keep up!

April has been a fast-moving month in nature. I barely blink and something in the garden has changed; brand-new flowers appearing, plants in bud one day then covered in flowers a few days later, birds transitioning from sitting peacefully on their nests to frantically feeding their young.

I’ve felt this shift reflected in my own life too; with new ideas and plans popping up, seemingly out of nowhere, to previously held plans falling by the wayside, no longer needed or appropriate. I feel a constant need for grounding, to keep up with the pace of change.

But the garden, the garden is glorious. Grass is growing and everywhere I look is lush and verdant. There have been more days of sunshine than of rain or clouds and every day it seems that a new plant is appearing for the first time.

My lilac bush in bud - it’s now in full flower!

The sky is bright blue, the air fresh and cool. The sparkling frosts of winter have been replaced by glittering dewdrops on the grass. The air is filled with the scent of fresh grass, and unseen flowers announce their presence with a waft of delicate scent. Buds are bursting everywhere.

Everything is alive, and the sound of bees buzzing is a backdrop to the birdsong. Compared to the relative silence of some winter days, only pierced by the occasional bird call, spring’s soundtrack is constant, an industrious yet relaxing hum.

In early evening I walk through hazes of flies, dancing like dust motes in the soft golden sunlight. It's warm enough to eat lunch outside on a regular basis, accompanied by birdsong and bees.

I’m missing some of my wildlife regulars from the winter months; I’ve had no sightings of the badger or the wood mouse, the geese have left, as have the long-tailed tits, and the squirrel is no longer visiting my wildlife garden on a regular basis. However, they have been replaced with an influx of new delights, such as the chirpy chiffchaff, and the return of the swallows.

Photo by Jim Summerson on Unsplash

All the new bird visitors are making up for the lack of sparrow chatter in the hedgerow. They have taken to the top of my neighbour’s barn to build their nests, so they don’t have much time for chit chat, although they do make time to visit my bird feeder and squabble most days.

I did a little research on the badgers, and they typically give birth to cubs in early to mid-February. For the first two months they stay underground, dependent on their mother. So, I’m hoping that perhaps this is why the badgers aren’t venturing into my garden for now, they’re staying close to home. I’ll be keeping a close eye on the wildlife camera from now until May, in case they bring their cubs to forage.

The fox is still incredibly active, her belly is growing! And birds are pairing up everywhere I look, several of them already on their nests incubating eggs, and I’ve even spotted some juvenile birds too.

There are baby foxes in there!!!

I am now taking for granted how light it is on my evening walk, as the clocks have changed and it’s past 8pm before the sun sets. It’s wonderful to swap the nightly closing of the curtains for a potter in the greenhouse, watering and tending to our vegetable plants. April even brought our first evening sitting on the patio, just briefly before the mosquitoes descended, and a lovely twilight spent bat spotting from the balcony.

Every day is a highlight for me this month, with so many new sightings of plants, birds and flowers, but here are a few of my favourites:-

Photo by Amee Fairbank-Brown on Unsplash

The Wren

I used to think of wrens as secretive, elusive little birds, but this last couple of years I’ve had enough close encounters with them to start to question that.

When last summer faded, and our honeysuckle dropped its leaves, we discovered that a wren had built a nest right in the centre of the tangled mass of woody stems. A few days ago, over dinner, Andrew told me that he’d witnessed a wren flying into the old nest and spending a significant amount of time there. I’m excited to know that we may have more baby wrens on the property this year.

I think that the wrens may becoming a little more familiar with my presence, as I have seen them once or twice, perched on a branch close by singing, and a few nights ago one treated us to a beautiful little song as it stood in silhouette on the top of the greenhouse.

Inspired by yet another appearance of this sweet little bird in one of my flower beds today, I have decided to dedicate my next post to them.

The remains of last years wren nest

Dandelions

When I wrote my post The Magic of March, I expected for the floral highlights of this month to be tulips and bluebells. I didn’t think for a moment it would be the humble dandelion.

Dandelions are everywhere right now, lighting up the sides of the road with their sunny yellow faces. Our field is filled with them, alongside daisies (another firm favourite) they are lighting up all corners of the space, under the hedgerow, even the plain grassy area where we exercise our dogs is a joy to look at.

One reason I enjoy where we live has to be the sheer volume of wildflowers left to grow in verges by the side of the roads. I have had several ‘wow’ moments as we’ve driven past oceans of dandelions as far as the eye could see. Check out the video below:-

I’ve been so taken with these little rays of sunshine that are often considered weeds, that I thought I would write a post about them. However, then I discovered this lovely article by

Daisy R. Birchwood

So, if you would like to know more about these delightful plants, it’s a great and informative read.

For me, dandelions bring to mind male lions, proud and beautiful as they turn their faces to the sun. Bold, glorious and golden.

More than just a pretty face, they are also fabulous for pollinators. I discovered this for myself on a walk one afternoon, when I spotted two bees covering themselves in pollen as they flew from plant to plant. As I looked beyond them to my ‘weedy’ lawn and saw the hundreds of flowers available for them to choose from, my heart lifted.

I have since seen a peacock butterfly enjoying the nectar and spotted a young sparrow nibbling on the dandelion leaves near the wildlife pond.

I challenge you not to want some in your garden when you see this video:-

What more reason do you need to leave these lovely flowers in your lawn?

Rabbits

One afternoon, I was sitting reading in our sunroom when I noticed something large moving around down the field. It was bigger than a wood pigeon, but not big enough to be a fox, or even a cat. I stood up to get a closer look, and realised it was a rabbit, a large, fat, brown rabbit. Smiling to myself that he or she felt happy to be chilling out in my garden (rabbits were my favourite childhood animal) I went back to my book.

Then a flash of movement made me look up again. The rabbit was racing across the field. I didn’t think much of it, until it came whizzing back in the opposite direction, so fast it almost looked as though it was flying. I couldn’t imagine what would be making it behave this way, unless my hungry fox was out during the day perhaps?

Then I spotted it, another rabbit. The two of them playfully chased one another for a good few minutes before disappearing into the wildlife garden. Yet another potential mating display from the wildlife on our plot. I’m glad to see that the rabbits are thriving despite the foxes, and it felt like a very fitting wildlife visit for the Easter weekend.

Photo by Karin Kim on Unsplash

Blossom

The epitome of springtime, short lived but so pretty, April has been the month for blossom. From the occasional magnificent magnolia witnessed through the car window, to hedgerows laden with blackthorn flowers. Fruit trees have been blooming too, I’ve enjoyed watching as my apple trees have developed their tiny magenta buds into full blown pale pink flowers.

My pear trees blossom has faded to be replaced with cherry blossom on the delightful bird cherry trees in my wildlife garden. These are amongst my favourites at this time of year, as they are covered in bees and smell delicately of almonds.

My bird cherry trees

The brief glory of tree blossom is followed by a spring snowfall of pretty petals, which makes me want to wear flower crowns and dance beneath them (I don’t, I’m pretty sure I’d get some strange looks from my neighbours, but never say never…)

I particularly enjoyed this description of cherry blossom I found:-

Delicate, ephemeral flowers, typically pink or white, that herald spring and symbolize renewal and the transient nature of life.

These trees have been laden with not only beautiful flowers, but also lots of busy bees and other pollinating insects, what more could you ask for?

Lambs

Early April brought a special treat. Andrew and I were invited round to my neighbours to meet their newborn lambs.

We trudged into the barn in our wellies to witness the fabulous results of their first ever lambing season. Standing in the middle of four pens, each containing a gorgeous ewe and her offspring, the excitement was quite overwhelming. I didn’t know where to look first!

What surprised me most was the sense of wisdom I felt coming from these new-born creatures, only days old, making eye contact with them felt as though they were staring right into my soul.

I have never been lucky enough to get close to a real-life lamb before, so getting to stroke one was amazing. It really was as though it was wearing its own woolly jumper. On the subject of lambs; I particularly enjoyed reading this post by

Dave Mead

this month. I laughed, and I cried, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as cute as that picture of lambs wearing specially knitted jumpers. I highly recommend.

As a bonus, we also got to meet Snorkles, the micro pig (who is not so micro) who was adorable. A snuffling, snorting foodie who reminded me uncannily of my chocolate Labrador Leo, thanks to the fact that if you show him food, he will follow you anywhere. My favourite moment being when he pushed his snout up to the edge of his enclosure and let me stroke him.

Snorkles, eyes closed, enjoying his food!

The Wildlife Ponds (AKA Bird Spa)

If you follow my notes you may have seen the miniature wildlife ponds I have created in my orchard, inspired by

Kate Warner

. My intention was to attract dragonflies and damselflies, but instead of calling them wildlife ponds, I think I will be renaming them ‘The Bird Spa’

I set up a wildlife camera pointed at them, and I’m so glad I did, as I’ve had a wonderful time watching all the bird life that has visited from day one.

So far we’ve had blue tits, goldfinches, robins, blackbirds, greenfinches, sparrows, a wren, a magpie, pied wagtails, wood pigeons and even a chiff chaff. Most of these are repeat visitors too.

I’m still hopeful for the insects later in the year, but whatever happens, it’s been worth it to create a space that the birds simply adore.

A total surprise was witnessing a young sparrow taking a drink from the wildlife pond and then stopping to nibble on a dandelion leaf that was hanging over the edge. I knew I was providing water, but I didn’t realise I was also providing snacks!

A day out at the local pool

It appears I’m running out of space as always, so I hope you will join me again tomorrow for the rest of my April delights, including that noisy chiffchaff.

Thank you so much for joining me and I would love to hear about your April nature moments in the comments below. What’s been happening in nature near you?