Butterflies and bumblebees

Butterflies can be seen throughout spring and summer with many different species on the wing at different times of the year. There are as many as 60 species in the UK though you will probably only frequently see about 20 or so. Most species emerge in the warmer summer months but there are a number of species which will in flight much earlier than that.

Some of the more notable species you might see in your garden or local greenspace may include:

Orange-tips (below) are beautifully marked members of the ‘white’ family that are normally on the wing in April.

The flashing flight of the Brimstone (above) is also an eye-catching sight and can be seen very early in mild conditions.

The earliest of the tiny ‘blues’ to be on the wing is the delicate pastel-coloured Holly Blue (above) which as its name suggests can be found around holly, but also often ivy and bramble. Churchyards can be a good place to see these.

There are several survey projects that you can take part in, though most take place in the summer. The Garden Butterfly Survey allows you to record all the different species seen in your garden throughout the course of the year. You can sign up ready for the first sightings here. 

Bumblebees are also one of the easier flying insect groups to identify and the first sighting of a huge emerging queen in the early spring is often memorable. She will have emerged from hibernation and in search of a suitable nest-site. Once a nest-site has been found she will then busy herself with collecting pollen and nectar in order to feed herself and the larvae which will hatch from eggs she lays in her nest. These will grow into adult bees by the summer.

We all know that insects, including bees are in big trouble and you can help by becoming a ‘Bee-walker’. You can set up a route to walk throughout the spring and summer recording bumblebees using it – all the instructions and guidance from Bumblebee Conservation can be found here.

Woodland flowers

This is the time of year to get out to your local woodlands and see the wonderful displays of wildflowers that can be found. Woodland flowers tend to come out early so that they can take advantage of the light getting in through the canopy before all the tall trees come fully into leaf.

Bluebells unsurprisingly tend to make ‘the headlines’ forming stunning carpets in ancient woodland sites such as Wildlife Trust Reserves like Parrot’s Drumble, George’s Hayes and Hem Heath.

There are numerous other species of wildflower that you may find as well, such as ramsons and violets, but also look out for yellow carpets of lesser celandines, often in damper woodland areas. If you are lucky you may be able to find other species including the yellow archangel, early purple orchid or wood anemone.

Why not keep a list and take photos of all the different flowers and plants you can identify at a site and send it to us (see links at the end of the article). Lists of species can help us understand the full value of woodland sites.

If you really enjoy looking at plants why not consider looking into the National Plant Monitoring Scheme? It involves visiting a randomly determined plot near you to look for indicator plant species in the spring and summer – it does cater for different levels of experience and again provides valuable data. Sign up here.

Birds

The dawn chorus is one of those iconic spring activities and it is always recommended to try it. You can look for organised walks (head to our events page) or just get up yourself and visit your local park or wood. 

There will be a shift in garden bird activity during the Spring. You may have got used to seeing hordes of different bird species descending on your bird feeders through the winter, but it is very likely that as birds enter the breeding season, that they will spread out into individual territories and be less tolerant of interlopers. So whilst they will still visit feeders, you may just see less of them. Depending on your garden’s size and contents you may be lucky enough to have nesting birds. Blackbirds will use any kind of dense bush, robins will build a nest in almost any sort of open cavity (including amongst garden debris or in your shed so please be careful) and blue tits can use a small cavity in a tree or structure. If your house is old enough you may even have sparrows, starlings or even swifts nesting under your eaves.

Gardens can also be quite sterile environments so you can help to make yours more bird friendly by planting more shrubs and perhaps even putting up some bird-boxes. Swift and sparrow boxes can be installed under the eaves of your house (though this requires a long ladder), but the easiest option is to fix a regular bird box to a tree or the side of your shed for a blue or great tit to use. Watching birds raise a family in your garden can bring great pleasure and you can also make a scientific contribution by taking part in one of the British Trust for Ornithology’s garden-based projects. The Garden Birdwatch (not to be confused with the RSPB’s project which only happens once a year) is a way of recording what birds use your garden throughout the year. You can find out more here.

The Nesting Neighbours project records birds that are nesting in your garden and how successful they are. There is also some handy advice about maintaining your nestboxes. Sign up here: https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/nesting-neighbours

As always we really need your sightings. The Trust hosts Staffordshire Ecological Record, which is the Biological Records Centre for the county. There are a number of ways to submit your records either directly to us here or via apps including Birdtrack.