SPRING WILL HAVE TO WAIT… BUT NOT FOR LONG

Once again winter has delivered its weather, proving it’s more likely to snow at Easter then Christmas.

However this blast of cold weather and snow for some, looks likely to be replaced by much milder, some would say typical, spring-like weather later this week.

Most will say it’s a shame that the Bank Holiday weather has been not so spring-like; and the wildlife is probably in agreement.

The breeding season has definitely been on hold, with little sign of nests being built, but plenty of the local garden birds pairing up.

The cold weather has meant a delay in fixing the nest box cameras, although I suspect it might be too late as the milder weather is likely to herald the start of nest building.

Will the extension of winter mean lower breeding numbers than usual, as the breeding season for the local birds will see the first broods fledging in early to mid-May?

Possibly, however the blue tits fledged in mid-May last year and did come under threat from a cold blast at the end of April.

The real indicator for the start of garden bird breeding season will need to see some leaves on the trees and caterpillars munching on those leaves.

It’ll need some warmer weather to encourage the butterflies and moths to lay their eggs, and that’ll be the indicator for the small birds to start laying eggs.

Only time, and hopefully a fully functioning camera, will tell.

And what about the arrival of the summer visitors? Well last year is was the earliest recorded arrival since at least 2013,. The 08^th of April saw the first swallows arrive, with blue skies and temperatures of 20c.

Previous dates for the first swallow sighting have been

2017 – 08/04

2016 – 10/04

2015 – 21/04

2014 – 19/04

In theory we could see the first swallows arriving this weekend, but the average tells us it’ll be the second full weekend of April.

The swallow is my favourite bird, closely followed by the peregrine falcon. Luckily both are seen around here, although the peregrine is resident, it’s more likely to be seen a short walk from the garden, while the swallow can be see daily swooping low over the garden in summer.