Find out what we are seeing at our Reserves
Spring is a glorious time in nature, following a dark winter, we all feel more positive when signs of new life begin to emerge.
At our nature reserves the sights and sounds of spring cheer us all up as more light and warmth encourages colourful blooms and thriving wildlife.
Spring technically, started on the 20th March, so by now we have spotted lots of clues that spring is here and new life is visible on the reserves.
Our Reserve Officers and volunteers have sent us pictures and spotted the following;
- Lots of activity in the ponds with plenty of frogspawn spotted at Broughton, Maes Y Grug and Bryn Y Groes reserves.
- Plenty of toads starting to pair up at the Maes Y Grug reserves, with counts of 20 toads plus in the ponds. Toads lay their spawn in long strings and although there is currently no sign of toad spawn we should see some soon.
- At Maes y Grug on Monday there was a woodpecker drumming loud and high up on a dead tree branch in the woods, announcing its presence to all.
- Lots of buds are breaking out now on the hawthorn hedges that were laid at Broughton. These are starting to break into leaf. The blackthorns are all flowering white and their almondy scent is filling the air. Within the next month they will look like solid hedges thick with leaves.
- Finally there is so much Birdsong that can be heard at this time of year, it’s difficult to know where to start. We can hear robins, blackbirds, wrens, song thrushes, blackcaps, chiffchaffs, chaffinches, blue tits, great tits and coal tits.
A great way of identifying what you have heard is to check it out at https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-songs/what-bird-is-that/