Spring Full On!

Common Lizard

The dramatic change in the weather during the second week in April, from a cold, dry, north-easterly airflow to a relatively warm, moist south- westerly, has had an equally dramatic effect on our wildlife. There has been a surge in plant and animal activity.........even the grass is growing once again! Migrant bird species have been arriving on cue; on the 15th April (18th last year ) the unmistakable song of the Chiff-Chaff could be heard from local woodland. Swooping over the water of Llyn Mair, Swallows made their appearance on the same day. In Coombe Abbey Country Park near Coventry, Swallows were seen on the 14th. For me, the migrant bird I always look forward to seeing is the Pied Flycatcher (PFC). This beautiful little bird flies all the way from sub-Saharan Africa to nest in the woodlands of western Britain, including those around Dol y Moch. There is evidence that individual birds return to the same nest site that they occupied the previous year.  I was very pleased to see a male PFC arrive on the 16th April (15th last year) and immediately begin to investigate the nest box that was used by PFCs last year. Could this individual be last year's occupant......? On the 20th, this male was joined by a female and preliminary courtship began with both birds entering the box. As I watched and reflected on how incredible and wonderful it was that these little birds had returned, I was suddenly aware of a female Sparrowhawk overhead in characteristic hunting mode. In an instant my dilemma was obvious.......do I let nature take its course or do I intervene and prevent this predator from taking one of the PFCs? I felt very protective towards these little birds; after all, they had flown all that way from Africa...................There then followed some very tense moments as I watched the hawk quartering the hedgerow trees in long looping guides. Fortunately, the hunter continued on her way either unable to spot the prey or detecting my presence near-by. What would I have done if the Sparrowhawk had attacked the PFCs? What would you have done?
Two other migrants arrived on the 22nd, the Willow Warbler (15th last year) and the Blackcap (3rd last year). I am pleased to report that our local Ospreys are now incubating eggs.

Flowers in bloom include Wood Sorrel, Wood Anemone, Golden Leaved Saxifrage, Primroses and Bluebells.......just! I spotted two in flower on the 15th April (17th March last year ).
I visited our ponds last week armed with a torch as it was 10 pm! Peering into the water, I discovered a hive of activity. (Beats watching telly!). There were Water Crickets skimming over the surface, and lots of Water Beetles swimming 'purposefully' between the surface and the bottom. However, most fascinating was the writhing masses of  Nematode Worms amongst the sediment and vegetation. A solitary Palmate Newt was floating near the surface but immediately sank motionless to the bottom when it detected my torch light. A newt has a passing resemblance to a lizard, but of course they are very different creatures.The newt is an Amphibian and the lizard is a Reptile. The Common Lizard also called the Viviparous Lizard (Scientific name : Larcerta vivipara ) is found in a range of habitats including woodland, grassland, sand dunes and gardens. I think the specimen shown in the picture is a female which I discovered under an old piece of sacking lying on the roadside (to which I returned the lizard after photographing it). In springtime you may see a Common Lizard basking in the sun in order to raise it's body temperature; lizards are 'cold blooded'. In April and May the lizards mate and live young are born in July. During the winter months they hibernate underground or in piles of logs or stones.

Still not seen any butterflies locally but dare say there are a few about in the Midlands.
Lastly we wait for the Cuckoo to arrive. The dates it  appeared in previous Aprils were as follows: 27th, 2008; 19th, 2009; 22nd, 2010; 19th, 2011; 26th, 2012.
My prediction for this year is 25th April.........tell you in my next blog if I was right!

Plas Dol y Moch Weather Data for Jan-March 2013

Month	January	February	March
Days of precipitation	25	27	18
Total precipitation mm	139.8	103.8	85.2
Maximum precipitation  mm	26 (25th)	27 (13th)	20.8 (15th)
Average temperature 0C	4.6	3.8	3.3
Maximum temperature 0C	12.1 (27th)	11.1 (28th)	15.3 (5th)
Minimum temperature 0C	-3.9 (1/25th)	-3.6 (25th)	-5.4(14th)
Average wind speed mph	1.4	1.2	2.2
Maximum wind speed mph	28 (27/28th)	33 (5th)	28 (11th)
Dominant wind direction	W	ENE	ENE

                                                                                                                          Date shown in brackets

The North-East Wind Doth Blow

Lesser Celandine

The North wind doth blow and we shall have snow,and what will poor robin do then, poor thing? So goes the nursery rhyme.Well, we have had the snow (not very much at Dol y Moch) but a little further east at Llangollen they received huge amounts. Roads were blocked by fallen trees and branches brought down by the sheer weight of snow.The wind that brought the snow came from the north-east which is the direction from which the wind has been blowing for the past few weeks, bringing very cold and dry conditions to the UK (and at Dol y Moch plenty of sunshine).The low temperatures have put  spring 'on hold' - plant growth has slowed dramatically. Grass in the farmers' fields has virtually stopped growing with the result  that ewes with their suckling lambs have little on which to graze. Fortunately for the lambs, the weather is dry - a cold, wet spring puts the lambs at risk from hypothermia as their thin coat of wool gets sodden.
The appearance of our spring flowers is always a welcome sight after a lingering winter. None more so than the pretty Lesser Celandine braving the current wintry weather. It first appeared on the 14th February (St. Valentine's Day). My records show that in  previous years first sightings were as follows:- 3rd Feb. 2008; 16th Feb. 2009; 2nd March 2010; 23rd Feb.2011; 31st Jan 2012.
In the sixteenth century it was referred to as 'swallow herb.'.......bycause that it beginneth to springe and to flowre at the comming of the swallows' (Lyte 1578)
Wild flowers are often called by different names in different areas of the UK. Lesser Celandine, for example, is also referred to as Butter and Cheese, Star Flower and Spring Messenger to name but a few.
It's actual scientific name is Ranunculus ficaria. All classified living things have a universal scientific name of usually two Latin words, a noun followed by an adjective. In the case of Lesser Celandine, Ranunculus comes from the Latin for frog (Rana) as the plants tends to grow in damp places where frogs abound! Ficaria comes from Ficus (Fig) because the root tubers of Lesser Celandine are fig-like in appearance.
Returning to our nursery rhyme, what about poor robin? Well she might sit in a barn and keep herself warm, and hide her head under her wing, poor thing. Better still, she could join other hard-pressed, hungry birds during this wintry weather at your bird feeding station, tucking into life-sustaining fat-balls, peanuts, mealy worms and seeds............and don't forget to provide water for drinking. Which reminds me, our tadpoles now have tails and are actively feeding on algae which coat stones and water plants.
Next blog will include weather data for Jan, Feb and March.......I feel cold already!

The more you look the more you See!



Flowers of the Hazel Tree ( male left, female right ) 

As I write (21^st Feb), there is still plenty of snow on Snowdon and a sharp easterly wind is blowing. However, the unmistakable signs of spring are everywhere to be seen and heard. Daffodils are blooming along the roadsides in local villages well ahead of Saint David’s Day (1st March).Less obvious are the flowers of the Hazel tree shown in the picture. The catkins are the male flowers and produce pollen. The diminutive female flower occurs lower down the twig, it’s beautiful crimson stigmas catch the wind -dispersed pollen on their sticky surface…..the more you look the more you see! More easily seen are the shining yellow petals of Lesser Celandine spotted on the 14^th February on a sunny wayside bank. The 14^th of February was a relatively warm day (11 C) and the frogs were out in force splashing, croaking and mating in our ponds. We first spotted frog spawn on the 6th of February, a week earlier than last year. I’m sure this year’s spawn was deposited a few days before we noticed it as it showed evidence of frost damage. Have the Coventry frogs spawned yet? It would be interesting to know what date it appeared.

There is now much more bird song in the mornings and evenings; prominent vocalists are the Mistle Thrushes with their loud ringing song calling from the tallest trees. Supporting singers include Robins.Chaffinches, Wrens, Nuthatches, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Great Tits and Blue Tits.The latter species is already investigating our bird boxes all of which were given a good spring clean back in January. Soon I will need to temporarily stop up the entrance hole of a few boxes; this will make sure  there are boxes available for the migrant Pied Flycatchers arriving in April.

The River Glaslyn marshes hold plenty of interest at this time of year with large numbers of wintering wildfowl including Widgeon and Teal. Further inland flocks of Canada Geese, Mute Swans and Whooper Swans were feeding on the flood plain pasture. Near to where the River Glaslyn enters Porthmadog harbour, I watched with amusement a Little Egret paddling in the shallow water. Its vivid black legs and yellow podgy feet seem to accentuate its ponderous high stepping progress   giving a very good impression of a John Cleese ‘funny walk’!

Back in mid January, on a frosty moonlit night I listened to a Vixen barking from the hillside; her hoarse wailing bark was a wonderfully wild and eerie sound that made the hairs on the back of my head stand up!



Out with the old and in with the New!

              Plas Dol y Moch Weather Data

Month / Year	December 2012
Days of precipitation	30
Total precipitation mm.	349.8
Maximum precipitation mm.	66 (22nd)
Average temperature 0C	5.4
Maximum temperature 0C	12.3 (23rd)
Minimum temperature 0C	-5 (13th)
Average wind speed mph.	1.2
Maximum wind speed mph.	29 (28th)
Dominant wind direction	W

Weatherwise December 2012 was a wash-out with only one dry day all month. On the 22nd we had over two and a half inches of rain, but there were also some cold snaps resulting in nine frosts, snow on the mountains and Llyn Mair ( Mary's Lake), completely frozen over. January 2013 began wet though we are now (13th) experiencing another cold spell. Birds definitely need our help at this time of the year, so keep those bird -feeders topped up. Birds visiting Faf's bird-feeders include Goldfinches and Siskins whereas on mine there are Nuthatches,Jays and a large Grey Squirrel!
At Porthmadog four Little Egrets are now regularly seen on the shore. I mentioned in my last blog to listen out for the 'tis wit' pre breeding call of the Great Tit; I heard my first of the year on the 5th January. Don't forget it's the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch on the 26th/27th of January. Help the birds by getting involved in this survey, it only takes an hour. Go online to find out. Moving on from birds to amphibia, keep a look out for the first appearance of frog spawn this year. My records show the following dates for previous first sightings of spawn:- 2010, Feb16th; 2011, Feb12th; 2012, Feb 13th.
Spawning is very much influenced by the prevailing weather conditions which need to be damp and relatively warm. In the garden Primroses are beginning to flower and Snowdrops are almost there.

Plas Dol y Moch Weather Data for November 2012

Month / Year	November 2012
Days of precipitation	26
Total precipitation mm.	207.8
Maximum precipitation mm.	24.8 (22nd)
Average temperature 0C	6.7
Maximum temperature 0C	14.8 (20th)
Minimum temperature 0C	-2.7 (29th)
Average wind speed mph.	0.9
Maximum wind speed mph.	44 (22nd)
Dominant wind direction	ENE

                                        As you can see our unsettled weather continued through November with only 5 dry days in the month! In two days time the Winter Soltice (21st December) will occur where the period of  daylight is the shortest of the year.From then on daylight increases to a maximum on the 21st June ( Summer Soltice).Birds respond to increasing daylight by singing (in preparation for breeding).Between now and early January listen out for the 'tiss wit'call of the Great Tit,a sure sign that spring is on the way!

Winter has arrived

This is a view of Snowdon photographed on the 5th of December looking from the marshes near Porthmadog. For much of November, and up till now (9th December), the tops have been white with snow so it must be winter? However some consider that Winter starts on the 1st of December although the 21st of December, the winter solstice, is considered to be the official date.Whatever the date, it is a good time to visit the marshes, lakes and seashore to watch birds, particularly ducks, geese and waders that over-winter in these habitats. At Borth y Gest we watched Wigeon, Oystercatcher, Redshank and a Little Egret feeding amongst the mud and sand as the tide went out. In the garden, the odd butterfly was still about in November; a Red Admiral was seen on the 5th, and a Speckled Wood on the 10th. Bats are still flying near the rock-climbing room and a nice slimy eel was discovered in the suitably named Slimy Pond...........don't fall in!