The clocks have gone forward, the days are longer, the fields around me are full of lambs and the woods full of flowers. Ladies and gentlemen I think we can say that spring is definitely here!
April is a month of sunshine and showers, although last year some areas got a surprise overnight fall of snow, so don't put your woolly jumpers in the attic quite yet!
This is a month when nature is at its busiest. Wild flowers like anemones, bluebells and wild garlic will be filling woodlands with wonderful colour and smells.
The first bright green leaves will start to unfurl on the trees and gardens will be blooming too. Tulips, daffodils and grape hyacinths will be brightening up pots and flowerbeds, and roses and lilacs with their wonderful colour and scent will attract important insects like bees.
Honey bees and bumblebees are in serious decline and gardeners have a vital role to play providing food and habitat for them. Your flowers, vegetables and fruit trees all rely on bees for pollination so having them in your garden is something to celebrate and treasure.
If you are planting new flowers or shrubs this month, remember the bees, and go for things they love like lavenders and cat mint.
The nesting season is now well underway and your bird table and feeders will be a great help to hard working adult birds feeding their demanding broods.
Peanuts and bread are not great for growing chicks. A good mix of seeds, fatballs and ideally live food like mealworms or waxworms is perfect for birds of all ages.
This is also the time of year when some of our migrant birds will be returning so while out enjoying your garden keep an eye out for swallows and housemartins.
Bats and hedgehogs will begin emerging from hibernationan too. Last year whilst taking my dog Badger out for his last scamper before bed we heard a noise coming from under the bird table.
In the torchlight there was a hedgehog cleaning up after the birds. He was there for the next couple of nights and then disappeared, probably in the search of a mate. This is a great time of year for these moments with nature and they can be quite magical.
To share your wildlife moment and see what others have been experiencing visit
www.rspb.org.uk/moments.
Happy Easter and see you next month
Kate
