Snow,Cuckoo Boots and unrequited love



Jack-by-the Hedge 




Today,Thursday 23rd of May it was snowing on the hillsides above Blaenau Ffestiniog; but down at Dol y Moch it has been snowing Cherry blossom .The hedgerows and roadsides are white, not with snow but wild flowers.....Wood anemones, Greater Stitchwort, Wood Sorrel and the aptly named Jack-by-the-Hedge!The latter has many local names including Garlic Mustard on account of it's garlic like smell when the leaves are crushed.




 Common Bluebells

 The flower of the month must surely be the Bluebell, carpeting the woodland floor and filling the air with the scent of Hyacinths.It has been estimated that 25-50% of the world's population
 of  Common Bluebells occur in Britain........so we need to take good care of them. Botasen y gog is a welsh name for Bluebell and means cuckoo boots, which reminds me that I made a prediction in the previous blog of hearing the first cuckoo on the 25th April.I was a day out........... it was heard singing in Llyn Mair woodland on the 26th!
Debs from Dol y Moch reports that Choughs are nesting in the old slate workings high in the Moelwyn Mountains and Swallows are once again nesting at Dol y Moch.
In the nest boxes Blue tits and Nuthatches are busy raising chicks , but things are not looking too good for our Pied Flycatchers.After a fine start the pair mentioned in my last blog started building a nest,then a few days later they both disappeared.A week later the male bird only returned and for the past two weeks, has unsuccessfully been trying to attract a mate with whom to set up home.Check my next blog for updates (and keep your fingers crossed).