March 2014

The bright yellow flowers of Lesser Celandine carpet grassy banks; only opening their petals to the sun on the finer days. Joining hazel catkins in the hedgerows are the furry catkins of ‘pussy’ willow, usually a name given to the Goat Willow.

Skylarks are singing on Bindon Hill and at Durdle Door; for me one of the first signs of spring. Yellowhammers have been practicing their first ‘a-little-bit-of-bread-and-no-cheese’ song, though some of them need to ‘fine tune’ their ‘cheese’. While checking our Exmoor Ponies on Bindon Hill, a Woodcock was flushed out of the scrub on the north-side, zigzagging as it flew off. I believe this is the first record we have ever had on Bindon Hill, but we have seen them on other sites with woodland edges further in land. This large wading bird has been given Amber Status because of a decline in recent years, possibly due to conifer plantations becoming too mature for Woodcocks to find open enough breeding areas.

The first of the seasons’ butterflies are on the wing; Brimstone, Red Admiral, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell have all been spotted in and around the village.

We have chosen Lesser Celandine for the flower of the month, and it seems to be a good year for them. Over the last week, there has been plenty of sunshine to encourage them to open their petals. These have been nicknamed the ‘spring messenger’ because they are one of the first species to flower, sometimes from late February/March through to May.