A spring in your step?
Nature, put on hold for what feels like a lifetime, begins to wake from its slumber. Birdsong fills the air. I’ve got a song thrush belting out its fruity repeating refrains outside my window at dawn each morning. I imagine it is encouraging me to get out of bed!
For me, getting through this winter has been a struggle, with my mental health taking a bit of a battering along the way. In recent days, however, I feel there is light at the end of the tunnel. I always look forward to seeing the back of winter, but this year I need the arrival of spring more than ever.
The claustrophobic darkness of the winter mornings and afternoons is noticeably being pushed further apart and the lengthening space in between feels brighter… fresher… and the sun’s rays have a hopeful warmth to them. This is all good for the soul and I feel my spirits lifting as each day passes.
Leave no spring flower unchecked!
Local wanders now bring the chance of spotting bumblebee queens emerging from a path side verge and embarking on a mission to find their first sweet nectar of the year. My thoughts also turn to what might be my maiden butterfly sighting. Each year I predict brimstone and each year I am wrong! The small tortoiseshell from a couple of days ago, once again, proved I am no butterfly Nostradamus.
Every pioneering spring flower is worth closer inspection, with each one bringing the chance of an encounter with a solitary bee or hoverfly. There is much joy to be found in slowing down and focusing in on the smaller things.
If you are lucky enough to live close enough to one of the Thames Basin Heaths, you will hopefully be able to pick out the beautiful song of the woodlark – a sure sign that spring has arrived on the heath! They’re now looking to set up territories and may well even have started nesting on the ground as you read this. Also, don’t forget to seek out bright yellow gorse flowers and give them a sniff – their coconutty aroma is always a sensory treat.
How about downloading our spring spotter?
Spotter sheet – What signs of spring can you find? [Click image to download]
If you’d like to slow down and look more closely at nature on your heathland wander or, for that matter, walk anywhere, how about downloading our spring spotter?
It’s a great way to spend time looking out for signs that spring has started to arrive.
There’s no need to print it out, as the interactive PDF allows you to tick what you’ve found on your phone or tablet!
As always, I encourage you to let me know what you discover on your heathland walks via our social media or via email.
Michael
Education Officer
P.S. to teachers: This spotter sheet is perfect to use if your class are investigating seasonal change. Resources for each season will appear on our schools page in due course.
Also, please do contact me if you’d like to know more about how we can help you connect your children with their local heaths – tbhschools@naturalengland.org.uk.
