April

April is an exciting month for the naturalist; migrants arrive, early buds and flowers bloom, and the sky is buzzing with insects.

So far this year we have seen the early Small Tortoiseshell, Brimstone, Comma, and Peacock butterfly species locally.

By Stair Hole and around Lulworth Cove the Alexanders are blooming; their light-green flowers give off a celery-scent on the spring breeze. This tall plant can sometimes grow up to five feet, is native to the Mediterranean and, naturalised in Britain, it thrives on the coast. Early Dog-Violets are out on Bindon Hill; their upper petals are the shape of rabbit ears. To tell the difference between these and Common Dog-violets (as they both flower March – May) look at the back of the flower and you will find that Common have pale backs or spurs, and Early have deep-purple spurs. The bright-yellow flowers of Gorse are at their peak in March/April and are coconut-scented, making this spiny evergreen all the more attractive.

A few weeks into March and Chiffchaff’s repetitive song was frequently heard around the village. Yellowhammers, Stonechats, Linnets and Skylarks dominate grassland habitats. It is a pleasure to hear the Yellowhammer’s ‘a-little-bit-of-bread-and-no-cheese’ song delivered from the top of a nearby gorse bush. We have seen an influx of Meadow Pipits over the last few weeks onto the open coastline ready to spread inland for the summer. We were thrilled to hear of a Red Kite sighting over Winfrith, even though being mobbed by Crows.

Several different species of Bee have been spotted, unfortunately un-identified, but nice to hear them bumbling past on several occasions. Oil Beetles have been regularly spotted crawling on the coast path to Durdle Door and to Stair Hole. They are known as ‘oil beetles’ because they release oily droplets of a substance called hemolymph from their joints when disturbed. Be warned as it is very hard to remove the smell!

We have chosen Early Dog-Violets for the flower of the month, a delicate and pretty flower scattered mainly on the north-side of Bindon Hill.