Spring is definitely here even if the nights are chilly, the flowers are blooming, the hedges are budding, the bats and insects are out and about. As I write this it is early March and already I have seen peacock butterflies that have over-wintered enjoying the sunshine and large bumblebees looking for nectar and on some pussy willows; at the top of the Sutton Quarry path a mass of honey bees were enjoying a buzzing feast. The snowdrops are fading rapidly but the daffodils are coming out and the primroses and celandines are open for business too.

Gardeners are preparing the ground and greenhouses for planting and it is all looking cheery and hopeful. On my way back to Sutton I spied several buzzards circling in pairs and a red kite too. In around our village gardens the birds have started nest building. One wildlife watcher has five little egrets in the field behind their cottage and are amused when they pop up onto the backs of the cattle. In my pond, I have spied a very large frog and lots of water bugs too and the irises and other pond plants are beginning to grow.

I do some volunteering for Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, when I can, and we have been in a team toad patrolling on the evenings when it is warm enough for toads to emerge from their hibernating spots and migrate down to Bodenham Lake for breeding. In the early days of February we picked up mostly males but more recently more females. Two nights were exceedingly wet and on the warmest one the team picked up around 400 toads and on the wettest night 200 - 300. So far this year we have transported well over 1000 toads to their breeding ground although we could not rescue them all, so a few succumbed to passing traffic. We also picked up newts; palmate, smooth and to the excitement of a team member, a great crested, and placed them on the safe side of the road.  Many frogs were also helped across the road as they made their way to their particular pond to breed.

At the Marden Branch meeting in March, Sarah King from the Trust came and talked about ‘Team Wilder’. This is a project to encourage organisations, landowners large and small and individuals to create wilder areas and register them with Team Wilder to show how we can increase out percentage of wild areas in Herefordshire as havens for wildlife.  They have a target to reach by 2030. In Team Wilder’s words:   ‘’We can all help by working together and we can ensure natures recovery, so why not join #Team Wilder to help make a Wilder Herefordshire."

 enquiries@herefordshirewt.co.uk  

There is a lot going a on at HWT and much to enjoy. Many talks, walks and information. Visit HQ at Queenswood Arboretum or look at the website: www.herefordshirewt.org.uk  I would love to know what you have seen too.  

Jess Tidball,  jessicatidball60@gmail.com, March 2022