April 2015
March has brought longer days, sunshine and some welcome flowers such as crocuses and daffodils. There are also some subtler ones like speedwell (Veronica spp.), little blue flowers in the grasslands. The reason these flowers are out is so that they can get pollinated by the first insects which are usually bumble bees and hover flies, and maybe a few butterflies such as peacock and tortoiseshell. You will probably be reading this in April; I must bear that in mind. By mid-April the first migrants will have arrived and many more insects will be available for them to eat as all our inland summer migrants are insectivorous. As soon as the temperature is often more than 10 degrees Celsius there will be an explosion of insects. There has already been an explosion of frog spawn in my pond, and I will be watching it develop with interest.
The spring equinox is about 21st March, when day-length will equal night-length. The chain of events that this triggers starts with flowers, insects and birds already mentioned, but there is a huge amount of other consequences, such as the flood of fish and sea-birds heading east and north for the cold water of the arctic as the long days up there trigger the planktonic blooms that the fish depend upon, who in turn feed the birds, seals, whales and polar bears (who mainly eat seals). I went to the arctic last summer and experienced 24 hours daylight and temperatures as high as 30 degrees Celsius. There were also large numbers of insects, most of them bite, and seemed to find me rather tasty.
If you are interested in watching migrating seabirds such as skuas, terns, petrels and scoters flying up the channel, the best place is the eastern end of the beach at Seaford at about 06:00 hrs. in the morning armed with a spotting telescope and binoculars, especially during May with a wind from the west. You will also see the large colony of kittiwakes which nest on the chalk cliffs nearby, unmistakable as the only gulls with black feet and legs. You are also likely to see gannets out to sea at almost any time of year from that location.
April is when frenetic nest-building will be happening by blue, great, coal, long-tailed, marsh and willow tits. These and all the other insectivorous birds will be anticipating the caterpillar bonanza mostly during in May. Look out for your first swallow and note the date!