On the drive to work this morning I saw my first terns of the year; common terns I suspect although they were too far and facing away from us to pin them down to a particular species. But I still got a rush of excitement nonetheless.
The last three weeks or so have been a whirlwind of vaguely remembered birdsong and unusual silhouettes – swallows flapping overhead and bees (or bombus, the scientific name, as I prefer to call them) buzzing past me. My garden and the green opposite my house have been full of a succession of butterflies – first brimstones, commas and peacocks, then small whites and now, in the past week, orange tips too.
Comma butterfly, photo by Matt Adam Williams
Spring is an exhilarating time of year, when everything feels like it’s in a rush to get somewhere or find something or someone.
But beneath the hurried pace of birds shuttling twigs to the hedgerows and bees and butterflies seeking out nectar and pollen, slower, deeper rhythms are at play. Climate change is affecting not just Spring but all of our seasons. Recent results released by the Woodland Trust show that warmer Springs are affecting acorn crops and potentially reducing the numbers of new oak trees.
This is just one among many observed and possible effects of climate change on Spring and its wildlife.
I don’t want to see our wildlife negatively affected by climate change. So on 17 June I’ll be joining with the rest of The Climate Coalition to head to London and Speak Up for wildlife and all the other things I love that could be affected. I’ll be heading there to speak to my new MP and explain what I love and why I want them to take positive action on climate change at the UN conference in Paris in December, and over the course of the next Parliament.
If the wildlife you’re seeing this Spring is invigorating your love for nature or inspiring you to take action, you could do little better than sign up to come along too on 17 June.
Matt Williams, Assistant Warden, RSPB Snape.