The British Trust for Ornithology reports this week that some migrant birds are now arriving - birds such as swallows, chiffchaffs and blackcaps have been seen in our area. On the whole the birds are arriving two to three weeks later than normal. However, now it seems that spring is finally here, hopefully that should encourage them to make the last part of their journey. Birds which generally arrive in the middle of April have not been delayed as much.
The ones that have arrived, or are permanent residents have been looking for nesting sites and building nests as usual, but with very few leaves on the trees and few insects about, not many birds are laying eggs and, in general, this seems to be two to three weeks later than normal as well. By contrast, the winter thrushes such as redwing and fieldfares have been late to leave. It remains to be seen how the very cold and prolonged winter weather has affected bird numbers as a whole. Very few butterflies have been sighted yet either.
If you see any of the expected migrant birds or any butterflies in the woods, or even the first spring flowers, please add your sightings to the forum, which will help to build up a picture of wildlife in the woods in this delayed spring.