Nature bursts into life after the long winter. Blossom flowers in the hedgerows and lambs frollic in the fields. Tadpoles begin to hatch and cuckoos can be heard making their familiar sound.
Wildlife to look out for
Snakes can be seen at Studland in Dorset, dormice come out of hibernation and cuckoos can be heard. See below for where to find butterflies, tadpoles and badgers. Black grouse and lapwings can be found on moorland. Gorse starts to flower and snipe perform their courtship dance.
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© NTPL / Andrea Jones
Flowers
Adders tongue fern, bluebell, Lesser Celandine, wild garlic, cowslips, early orchids, early gentian
Spring time is the time to visit woodlands before the trees are covered in leaves. It's at this time of year that woodland floors are carpeted in a mass of colour. Look out for early flowering orchids and bluebells surrounded by the scent of wild garlic in woodlands. Blackthorn flowers in the hedgerows.
South East: Denbies Hillside (orchids), Box Hill (orchids)
Wales: Gower Coast & Common, Berthllwyd Farm (Brecon)
North West: Sandscale Haws
Wessex: Rodborough (Earl’s Purple orchid), Golden Cap (Green-Winged Orchid), South Purbeck Coast (especially Spyway Farm, where 1,000s can flower in a good year) (Spider Orchid and gentian)
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Migrating birds
House Martins, warblers, swallows, swifts, Sand Martins
Migrating birds from Africa and Southern Europe flock into the UK to breed. Look out for flocks as they come in from abroad.
South East: Winchelsea, Frensham Common (warblers)
Wessex: Brownsea Island, Purbeck
East of England: Dunwich Heath (warblers)
Northern Ireland: Crom Estate (swallows, warblers)
South East: Hindhead Common & Devil’s Punchbowl (warblers)
Devon & Cornwall: Lizard Properties
© NTPL / Joe Cornish
Sea birds
Arctic, Common, Sandwich Tern. Puffin, Razorbill, Guillemot, Eider Duck, Shag, Oystercatcher, Kittiewake, Fulmar, Greater and Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Rock Pipit, Ringed Plover, Cormorant, Gannet and Turnstone
Between April and early August the cliffs around the Farne Islands become alive with about 20 species of birds. The Farne islands have the highest number of breeding birds than any other part of the Northumberland coast. Puffin arrive at Lundy to breed over the summer and raise their chicks in rabbit warrens.
North East: Farne Islands
Devon and Cornwall: (Puffin) Lundy
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Butterflies and bees
Green Hairstreak Butterflies, Orange Tip Butterflies, Mining Bees out of hibernation
The National Trust is the largest and most important landowner for butterflies and moths in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Look out at countryside properties and gardens for butterflies emerging out of hibernation. Mining Bees are also beginning to come out of hibernation (warm places in the South: heaths, downs, woodlands, gardens)
Wessex: (Rodborough Common), Green Hairstreak Butterflies (many Southern Downs), Green Hairstreak Butterflies (many Southern Downs)
© NTPL / David Sellman
Amphibians
Great crested newts are breeding, after elaborate tail-flicking courtships they mate and lay their eggs. The female carefully folds each of these in the leaves of floating or submerged vegetation, hiding them from predatory eyes.
Frog and toad tadpoles are breaking free of their slimy casings and can be seen foraging in many ponds around the country.
South East: Frensham Common
North West: Sandscale Haws
Badgers
Male badgers are out roaming the countryside, whilst the young are starting to come out and play round the setts entrances.
Northern Ireland: Divis & Black mountain (Belfast), Strangford Lough
Wessex: Woodchester Park
East Midlands: South Peak Caves
Cuckoo
One of the great British harbingers of spring is the cuckoo. They return from their African winters to echo their familiar calls across the countryside. The female cuckoo is a crafty bird; she removes an egg from another birds nest and lays one of her own in its place.
Cuckoos favour the nests of reed warblers, dunnocks and meadow pipits. When the cuckoo chick hatches some its first movements are to expel the other eggs or chicks from the nest. The adopted parents then care for just the cuckoo, which requires large quantities of food and grows to many times their size.
Reptiles
The sun should now be warm enough to entice reptiles from their winter slumbers. Watch out for grass snakes, common lizards, adders and slow-worms. These cold-blooded creatures bask in the sun to raise their body temperatures enough to hunt. They are easier to spot when cold and sluggish, for once they heat up they will rapidly flee from disturbances.
© Richard Allen
Trees
The distinctive pink female blossoms of the non-native larch tree can still be seen, the green male flowers are found close by and will develop to release clouds of pollen for the females, which, once pollinated, then transform into cones. There are many Trust properties with beautiful orchards and this month their fruit trees will begin to burst with blossom.
North West: Dunham Massey, Sizergh Castle & Garden
Yorkshire & North East: Fountains & Studley Royal
East Midlands: Calke Abbey, Clumber Park, Woolsthorpe Manor
West Midlands: Attingham Park, Brockhampton Estate, Charlecote Park
Wales: Erdigg, Powis Castle & Garden
Wessex: Barrington Court, Dyrham Park, Hidcote Manor Garden
Thames & Solent: Buscot & Coleshill Estates, Fenton House
East of England: Blickling Hall, Wicken Fen
Devon & Cornwall: Killerton, Lydford Gorge, Trelissick
South East: Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Polesden Lacey
Northern Ireland: Crom Estate
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