We are well in to spring now and nature is alive all around us. Things to notice in Squirrel Wood are the bluebells and wild garlic growing. These plants flower in early spring when there is still plenty of light through the big trees that form the canopy over our woodland. Once the trees have all their leaves in summer, there will be very little sunlight getting through to the plants on the ground layer. Then we will see plants that prefer shade starting to grow.
We will be planting more woodland plants over the next few weeks and also getting our veg beds ready.
1st May was National Dawn Chorus Day. The birds form an amazing orchestra with their singing at this time of year but you need to be up very early to hear it. Just before sunrise, the first bird starts to sing, quickly joined by all the others. They sing their chorus in celebration of spring for around 30 minutes - about 15 minutes before sunrise and 15 minutes after. It is worth getting up for and especially if you are away from traffic and near to trees or woodland.
One of the first birds to start the dawn chorus is the robin. It is also the last bird to stop singing in the evening and the only bird to sing throughout the winter.
Our shipping container arrived last week. This will be a great space for storage.
A huge thank you to The Lytham Lions Club who have funded the container for us and also to the Lee family, especially Melanie and Spencer, who have supported us with our pledge and worked incredibly hard over the last few months to find and respray a container and organise delivery.
Mrs Banks and Year 3 have been finding lots of signs of spring.
Many birds are nesting in our woods. Some are building nests and others are incubating their eggs. Great news....nearly all our new bird boxes are in use!
Look out for swallows which have arrived in the UK during the last few weeks. They have flown around 6,000 miles from South Africa and will return there when the weather here turns colder in late summer. They fly about 200 miles each day for around 4 weeks to get here.
So, think about the swallow next time you're fed up on a long journey!
'Be Nice To Nettles' week begins on 15th May. Nettles have many benefits to wildlife, especially bees, ladybirds and other insects.
We will hopefully have some time to make nettle tea in The Nest.
Finally, the calendar for this month is Meaningful May...
