March 2025

Once again records have been broken in England, this time for the most amount of sun in the month of March. It was also a very dry month and sadly contributed to several wildfires in Wales. But, we also had buckets of rain in the middle with gallons of run off from the fields above our track, which created great pools of water and mud. And, to round it off, we also had hard frosts greeting us on several mornings. A good mix of Spring weather.

It was, as always, a busy month for the birds and I made several recordings throughout. During the 6am to 7am slot we had regular singsongs from the following birds; Robins, Chiffchaffs, Spotted woodpeckers, Wrens, Woodpigeons,Blackbirds, Jackdaws, Carrion Crows,Dunnocks, Lapwings and Tree Sparrows, and for the first time we heard Yellowhammers and Cornbuntings. The Chiffchaffs were very much in the lead for noise and numbers. Out in the field the Buzzards floated around regularly in the sky and the Badgers made themselves known by leaving several piles of their scat, which thankfully we cleared before the dogs noticed it.

I took some time at the end of the month to sit in the field and take notes on all that I could see and hear. It started out as a frosty mornning with Daffodils thawing themselves in the early sun. It moved on to become bright and sunny , as warm as a Summer's day. The birds were singing like the clappers and the ground in front of me was covered in shades of blues and purples from the Speedwells and Violets and dotted with the tiny white flowers from Chickweed.  Dandelions were sprouting up all over the field and adding their lovely rich, warm shade of yellow. The meadow we are creating, which was cut and seeded last Autumn, looks like a field of multi coloured grasses, tidier looking than last year and with many fewer Docks and Nettles. Around the hedgerows and in the field the Blackthorn blossoms were bursting forth and the yellow Gorse put in a strong appearance alongside vigorous growth from the Alexanders who were gathering in large numbers and lining the edge of the field, their flowerheads already formed. And closer to the ground the first delicious leaves of the Sorrel plant could be found, bringing a much needed punch to the winter salad bowl.

Further down the field in the more sheltered aspect there were carpets of juicy green leaves from the Red and Pink Campions. The Montbretia shoots were emerging and masses of Ox Eye Daisy leaves were pushing up through the decayed growth of yesteryear. Down by the river the large rosettes of future thistles have formed in amongst a mass of Hemlock Water Dropwort. Nestling in the warmer pockets of the lower field the first couple of Buttercups were in view.  The Goat Willow tree, which we first noticed as a 2 foot sapling, an offshoot from one of the trees further down in the woods, is now a sturdy 16 foot tree with a width of 10 foot or more. It achieved this growth all on its lonesome, nature working its magic on the land when left to itself.

As I wandered back up to the house I passed great colonies of  the yellow Celandine, in the vegetable patch the Purple Sprouting Broccoli offered me armfuls of produce and finally by the side of the house I was greeted by a trio of blues; the Cornflowers, the Borage and the Alkanet. Beautiful.