April Firsts on the Riverside

April is always a month marking the first appearances of birds and insects after a winter spent on warmer shores or, for some insects,  hidden away in hibernation.

Here the first half of this month has seen many early appearances, certainly compared with this time last year. High pressure has prevailed now for a long time, maintaining good weather, mostly warm and clear but in recent days becoming colder again with a chill northerly wind.

Orange tip butterflies had already appeared in late March (see previous post) and became more and more numerous around their food plant, the Cuckooflower which is also more common everywhere this year. Holly Blue butterflies appeared early too and are still numerous.

The first blossom buds appeared early this month on the Crab Apple trees, with most other fruit trees blossoming now.

Crab Apple blossom 11th April 2017

On 4th April 2017 a female blackcap was seen in the brambles, with a male blackcap singing in amongst the Blackthorn blossom so dense that the bird was almost invisible. Further downstream a willow warbler was singing its fine song from a Blackthorn branch over the river, with chiffchaffs seen clearly high up in tree tops singing loudly.  Blackbirds were busy collecting food for young and a fine mistle thrush was seen perched motionless on a branch.

On 5th April the first Speckled Wood butterfly was seen on a hedge alongside the river - and since then the population has increased day by day, with more Orange tips, Small Tortoiseshell and Holly Blues seen too.

Another fine day on 7th April - a green woodpecker was yaffling loudly on the grass whilst a nuthatch called from an oak; chiffchaffs continued to sing with goldfinches joined by greenfinches singing from high in the still-bare trees. It was good to see that the long-tailed tits were still nesting in the brambles - the weather has been kind with river levels remaining low of now.

April 10th marked the arrival of the first whitethroat - heard singing well amongst a bramble thicket, accompanied in song by a willow warbler and a blackcap.

Another first here on 11th April was the presence of a Brimstone butterfly ranging along the bank after coming out of winter hibernation. This butterfly would have first emerged as a butterfly around August time last year, 2016 when it would have been busy on Teasels and Thistles, feeding up to gain weight to see it over the winter which it would have spent in a wooded area or safely sheltered in a Holly or Ivy bush. The warmth and sunlight would have awakened it this spring, when it re-emerged.

This first Brimstone butterfly, on re-emerging, was attracted to the

 bright yellow of the  Dandelions on the bank

This is a female, lighter in colour than the male. She will be searching for a Buckthorn 

bush in leaf - easy to find here as there are Buckthorn bushes not far along the river bank. The eggs will form the next generation of Brimstones which will emerge at the end

of the summer.

Dandelions are excellent plants for pollinating insects such as bees and should be protected, definitely not mown down!

Wild Garlic is now flowering all along shady areas on the river bank under the trees.

Like most flowering wild plants this spring, it is spreading along the river, increasing the diversity of 

plant life here.