Spring Essentials

Enjoying nature's finest

Spring is a wonderful time of year with lots happening in the natural world. Every year we make a point of enjoying some of Spring’s best spectacles, which feels like a way of fully welcoming the season! So here are some of my favourite Spring moments from our local area. There are similar sights and sounds elsewhere in the UK and across the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere.

1. Snowdrops

Snowdrops bloom in February. In Edinburgh, I always think of Cammo Country Park as being the prime location for these earliest of Spring flowers. Recently, though, so many houses have been built on the fields around Cammo, that we just can’t bring ourselves to visit. However, from the Friends of Cammo website, it looks like the park itself is as lovely as ever.

There are also nice displays of snowdrops in many cemeteries in Edinburgh.

2. Birdsong

Birds start singing in late February. I love hearing the first Skylark of the year, which I usually hear alongside the John Muir Walkway outside Musselburgh.

Superficially similar to a Skylark is the Meadow Pipit , which I was delighted to encounter the other day at Lauriston Farm (Edinburgh’s Agro-ecology project) performing its song flight.

I also love the birdsong in Edinburgh’s woodlands, especially the Dells alongside the Water of Leith. Early in Spring there are the beautiful songs of thrushes (Blackbirds, Song Thrushes and Mistle Thrushes) along with Robins and Wrens, the repetitive calls of tits (Blue Tits, Great Tits and Coal Tits) and pigeons (Woodpigeons and Stock Doves), the raucous calls of the Nuthatch, the drumming of the Great Spotted Woodpecker and the laughter of the Green Woodpecker. If your hearing is good you’ll hear the high pitched songs of Goldcrests and the similar sounding Treecreepers. As Spring progresses the warblers join in - first the Chiffchaff (helpfully calling its own name), then the melodious song of the Blackcap and (if you’re lucky) the descending warble of the Willow Warbler.

As I write, my window is wide open so I can hear our local Blackbird, singing his heart out from one of the cherry trees across the road. Blackbirds, like many birds are facing many problems these days. You can help them by joining in the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) Blackbirds in Gardens project.

3. Cherry Blossom

Edinburgh at the moment is full of cherry trees in full bloom. There are two particularly iconic places to enjoy the cherry blossom in our city. One is the Meadows

The other is the Japanese garden at Lauriston Castle.

We visited Lauriston Castle at the weekend and the cherry blossom was at its best. (You can see more of our photos on my blog here). The blossom will hopefully still be at its best next weekend for the two day Sakura event.

4. Bluebells

The iconic place to see bluebells near Edinburgh is Dalkeith Country Park (also famous for its amazing ancient oak trees). They’re coming into bloom at the moment and hopefully will be at their best at the weekend.

5. Azaleas and Rhododendrons at the Botanics

   The Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh have a large selection of azaleas and rhododendrons, which offer beautiful blooms over several weeks. We visited the gardens last weekend and you can see more photos on my blog here.

   

   6. Insects

   Summer is really the time to appreciate insects, but some are already out! The first butterflies are appearing, including the Speckled Wood

   

   Our insect related highlight of the year so far has been the large number of female Hairy Footed Flower Bees that we recently saw in the Botanics.

   

   With so much going on in the world, it feels particularly important to take time to appreciate nature.

National Mammal Week 21 - 27 April

National Mammal Week is dedicated to raising awareness and promoting conservation of British mammals.

Get Involved

If you’re in the UK, you can take part in the Big Seaweed Search at any time of year! Find out more on the Big Seaweed Search website.

What I’ve been Watching

Flow is a wonderful animated film, with no dialogue, that features a cat who has to leave home due to floods and finds uneasy companionship on a boat with a labrador, a Ring Tailed Lemur and a Secretary Bird. It’s a beautifully made fable about climate change. You can watch the trailer here.

I’ve Been Published

My short story Dressing My Daughter is now featured in issue 253 of Open Book's Unbound newsletter. You can read the story here and find the questions and writing prompts inspired by the story here.