In common with many people I keenly anticipate the beginning of spring due to the fact it signifies that nature is waking up again following the winter and it promises plenty of satisfying days wandering and revelling in the great outdoors. Yet when is the first day of Spring and what are the signs that promise to you that it is imminent?
Commonly Spring is associated with listening to the first cuckoo, famous for its distinctive call and very own lifestyle. In fact, it is far from being the first of the migrant species to return nonetheless it is definitely one of the first to leave again, departing back to Africa in August. Cuckoos are, certainly, now uncommon in the UK and no one is quite sure whether this is because of the extremely specialised circumstances they demand for breeding or issues back in Africa. Whichever, it’s obvious to me that we need a better indicator that spring is here or at least on its way.
So when does Spring start? The answer to that problem does rather depend on where you may be. In the United Kingdom Spring takes basically 8 weeks to journey from the south coast of England to the north coast of Scotland. That is roughly walking pace.
For the author the 1st indicator that Spring is coming is the knocking of the woodpecker. Here in the North of England the male starts to establish his territory and lure mates in February. The local birds also grow to be more vocal for the same purpose. Great tits especially seem to generate a great range of great lyrical songs at this point.
Before very long, of course, we will see the daffodils and narcissi as they cover our semi wild areas. Then we will begin to hear the first of those small but melodic birds the warblers. We generally notice the first chiff chaff by the end of March followed a couple of weeks later by the Willow Warbler. These two birds are almost impossible to tell apart except by way of their songs. The chiff chaff gets its name from its unique call whereas the willow warbler has a gorgeous call that seems to capture the spirit of the English country idyll.
The brand new growth, the rich greens and the numerous types of blossom are also all amongst the indicators for me that Spring definitely is here. Two events, however, eventually do confirm to me that we can officially say that Spring is here; both of them are the arrival of particular birds. The first is the swifts as they dive and swoop through the air to catch flies and then land on telegraph wires for a rest. The second is the arrival, in the stream at the bottom of our garden of the Spotted Flycatcher from Africa. It is a little bird with a dark back and practically white front that flits down to the stream to catch flying insects from just above the water. A beautiful bird and fascinating to see as it flies up and down from its perch. A sure sign that it will not be long before I should be lighting my first barbecue of the year!
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