So Coombes Valley had its first day of actual spring-like weather last week! Saturday the 7th was a beautiful sunny day and it was great to see so many people jumping at the opportunity to take advantage of it! This got me thinking - it seems like everyone is spotting signs in their gardens or on their local patch. I decided it was about time I enjoyed some of those first spring moments too and decided to explore the reserve (now my local patch) and see what inklings of spring I could find.
Children playing in the mud kitchen – Heather Watkins
Ambling out onto the reserve I was pleasantly surprised to realise that it seems there is a wealth of signs out there if you’re willing to look. Just stepping out of the Visitor Centre I spotted great tits and blue tits squabbling over a nest box very close to the Visitor Centre doors. Luckily that nest box has a camera in it and it looks like it will be occupied for another year. So make sure you come down and see who wins the battle for the box next time you visit. Depending on when you visit you may be rewarded with a glimpse of a nest full of eggs and a brooding female or if you’re a bit later a box full of demanding squawking chicks! Either way - the would-be parents are certainly making a racket about it at the moment.
Wandering down the woodland loop path I was greeted with more spring signs; hazel catkins, birds beginning their competitive and self assured song. I even saw the odd blackbird hurriedly collecting nest building material – as if they didn’t know they are one of the first species to start!
Hazel catkins – Katy Fielding
Venturing further into the reserve I spot a real tell-tell sign of spring; a beautiful patch of snowdrops hidden behind Clough meadow cottage. Now, I have been seeing these little heralds of spring everywhere and I’m so glad we have them on the reserve too.
Snowdrops glinting in the sun – Katy Fielding
Coombes has been a slightly gloomier place recently – with two of our interns Maddie and Heather moving on to pursue their careers. We’re very happy for them but they will certainly be missed. However, seeing these resilient and iconic little flowers reminded me that there’s a whole new year ahead; with new interns arriving, events to get stuck into and of course better weather and longer evenings.
So really, you could say that I went looking for signs of spring not because I was jealous of other people’s findings but to perk me up and motivate me through the last dregs of the winter. Now that the novelty of hot chocolates and snuggling up under a blanket has worn off I need a bit of reassurance that spring is nearly near and summer not far behind it.
If you’re getting fed up of the last throws of winter, why not venture out into the day. Explore your garden and the green spaces around you or why not join us at Coombes Valley and celebrate those first signs of spring. You just might find what you you’re looking for. Discovering those first signs of spring is a fantastic way to shake off those winter blues and they’re a sure sign of so much more to come in the year.
See you soon
Katy