Monthly Diary 2025
Monthly Diary 2025
April 2025
Hooray, the whitethroats are back! As you can see from the photo, these delightful little birds are so called because they sport a rather dashing patch of white on their throats! They are a summer visitor who sensibly overwinter in Africa and then return to the UK in April. They like the scrubby side of the Green, where there is lots of bramble and small bushes, where they will nest. They have a very distinctive scratchy song and I was thrilled to see and hear at least three breeding pairs, so hopefully we will have lots of baby whitethroats in a month or two!
With the warm weather, the butterflies are out and about and one species that you should see is the orange-tip butterfly. The males have a distinctive bright orange tip to the upperwing, which the females lack, but they both have this gorgeous mossy green pattern to the underwing. This male is feeding on one of their favourite plants, ladies smock (or cuckoo flower), and for the eagle eyed, you may see a small orange blob on the lower left hand side of the plant. This is the egg of the orange-tip butterfly, which will hatch in about a weeks time and the resulting caterpiller, will then feed on the plant. After about a month it will pupate and then emerge as an adult next year. How amazing is that?
You would be forgiven for thinking this little plant is a speedwell, but it is in fact a close relative, known as brooklime. Apart from having fleshier leaves and a hollow stem, it also lives in a very different habitat to speedwell, namely on the wet ground near to the brook. I just love the intensity and delicate blue of the flowers. A little stunner!
March 2025
A diary post at this time of year, would not be the same without a photo of the beautiful wood anemone. We are very lucky to have a few patches of this gorgeous plant (one of my favourites, I have to admit) growing on the Green. They like dampish ground and so are found near to the back gate on some of the damp grassy tussocks. I think you'll agree that their flowers are just stunning and a reminder that Spring is here! These plants are normally associated with ancient woodland, so I'm not quite sure why they grow on the Green, but I'm more than happy to have them!
Last month I talked about song thrushes, and this month, I give you the mistle thrush! At first glance, you would be forgiven for thinking this is a song thrush, but a closer examination does show some differences. The mistle thrush is a larger, more slender bird with greyer plumage, compared to a song thrush. The spots, are also a different shape - more rounded on the mistle thrush, compared to the arrow shaped spots of the song thrush. The mistle thrushes on the Green are usually found feeding on the meadow area, where the grass is a bit shorter and it is here that they will be hunting for invertebrates.
The Green is also home to a few patches of gorse and at this time of year, you can't really miss it, with it's bright yellow flowers gleaming in the sunshine. Whilst I was stopping to admire the flowers, a hoverfly came whizzing in and started to feed. This is a timely reminder of how important these flowers are as a nectar source for early flying insects and so it is a good thing that we have some gorse on the Green. After visiting a few flowers to feed, the hoverfly then flew off to do whatever hoverflies do!
February 2025
After a dreary start to February, it's lovely to feel a bit of sunshine and warmth over the last week. It certainly feels that Spring is in the air and the birds most certainly seem to think so; not only are more bird species starting to sing, but they are getting louder too! So it was lovely to see this beautiful song thrush, sitting on top of a hawthorn bush, proclaiming his territory. What a handsome chap he is too — just look at those brown heart-shaped spots against the warm creamy feathers. You can also see the white patch under his chin, which is something that isn't always visible.
Whilst I saw one or two lesser celandines flowering in December, it is good to see that towards the end of February, many more are beginning to flower and soon there will be lovely yellow carpets of them brightening up the day. Not only do they make me smile and feel better, but they are also an important nectar source for early flying invertebrates, especially some of the bumble and solitary bees.
A heron was also enjoying the warm sunshine by the brook, whilst fishing for an unsuspecting frog or small fish. It's amazing how still they can stand and for such a long time, before suddenly lunging to catch their prey.
January 2025
Who doesn't love a robin? This chilly chap (or chapess) was all puffed up, in order to keep warm, during the recent cold snap that we had earlier on in the month. His red breast was certainly standing out amongst the grey branches. Amazingly there are 7 million breeding pairs of robin in the UK, and its nice to know that a few of them call Pipe Green home.
One thing that I like about the cold weather, is when the hoar frost settles on the vegetation and transforms it. Not only do you see structures and details that you would normally ignore, but when the sun comes out, it all becomes magical and sparkly. So here is a small piece of moss, which you wouldn't normally look twice at, being transformed into a shining jewel!
Buzzards are a fairly common site on the Green and can often be seen soaring overhead or sitting on the telegraph poles. I was therefore thrilled to get this shot of such a magnificent bird. Now admittedly this photo wasn't taken on the Green, but as it was taken whilst I was walking to the Green, I reckon it still counts! Just spend a minute admiring the details; the beautiful feathers, those impressive talons, the curved beak and oh yes, what about those eyes looking for anything that moves? Wonderful stuff!