Cyn's Nature Notes: End of a Long Hard Winter

Thursday 18 March 2010

End of a Long Hard Winter

It has been a long, hard, cold winter, but at last the temperature has risen and days are noticeably less cold. Fat furry bees are beginning to buzz about, banging into windows. Down by the river, we noticed a mass of bright yellow on the south-facing bank. Further investigation showed it to be more than a dozen clumps of coltsfoot. The floods have, at last, subsided, and the river has returned to normal.

The last few days our female duck has been slipping away and searching the garden for a good nesting place. The male duck waits impatiently for her return, anxiously peering around and quietly quacking all the while. Sometimes he searches for her, wandering all over the garden, peering under bushes and overgrown areas, back and forth he wanders, but all to no avail, because he never finds her. She hides her nest well. Only once have I ever found it, and then it was the young ducklings running in and out that gave it away.

The riverside woodlands are made pretty by drifts of snowdrops and aconites. The ground underfoot is a bit mushy, but much drier than for a long time. Catkins are stretching out and yellowing up, and the rich brown, sticky buds of the horse chestnut are swelling daily. Scattered about are many hollow black shells of last autumn’s conkers – the fruit of the horse chestnut.

Although the male pheasants still companionably share the garden, this will soon change as they look for mates and rivalry sets in. I have not seen any female pheasants for the last two or three months. This is unusual because we have never before had a winter without them.

The lawns are full of moss, much to the birds’ delight. I have seen tits, thrushes and blackbirds all collecting it for their nests. The moorhen has returned to the river, we shall see him only very occasionally now, but next winter he will again take up residence with us.

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About this Blog

When we moved to our present home in December 1987, I was very ill and bedridden. My garden was a life-saver, although it was very different then. The first thing I did was to put up bird-feeders, and long hours were spent lying indoors in a recliner. This was when I discovered many things. Do you know the underside of every blue tit’s tail is differently marked? Gradually, over the years, the garden changed. We put in shrubs and plants that would not only enhance the garden, but would also be good for wildlife. The first rabbit we saw was so joyful for us. The deer eat the flowers, prune the apple trees, eat the marrow, and are wonderful to watch. Foxes have been a major part of our wildlife. We have fed them each night for more than 20 years. They are such a delight, especially in late summer and early autumn when there are youngsters. They behave like puppies and are great fun to watch.

I love all wildlife: the mason bees that nest in the brickwork of the bungalow, the hornets that last year made their home in the roof above our bedroom, the bees currently nesting in the roof above the bathroom. On a hot evening, if you stand quietly in the bathroom, you can hear this amazing sound: it is very rhythmic and reminds me of the waves at the seaside. It is made by the beating of the bees’ wings as they fan their nest to keep the temperature at the right level -- how many people have heard that sound? I feel so privileged.

Obviously, I feed the birds. When I open the window in the morning I call “Come on Bobby and Blackie”, and one followed swiftly by the other they fly immediately to the bird table. Each morning, on rising, I make my way to the kitchen and find the squirrels already sitting on the window ledge waiting to be fed. Winter brings the moorhens and spring time the mallards. Our pond is a poor effort from a human point of view, but wild creatures see it differently. On summer days, the grass snakes spend long hours in the pond: eating the fish, froglets, toadlings, newts, and any other living creature they can swallow. Although I hate to see the pond emptied this way, I do enjoy the snakes and feel they are an important part of the balance of nature in the garden. Watching a dragonfly nymph climbing out of the pond, up a plant stalk, and then over the next few hours gradually transforming into a beautiful dragonfly -- these are contented hours well spent.

It has been my pleasure to write and publish a nature column each month. I am always delighted to hear how much pleasure this brings to my readers. I have often been asked if I have written a book, so I am making more of my writings and photography available through this web site and blog.