Nature Notes

In January 2020 we included an item about a blue tit at Glebe Cottage.

The weather in 2021 was extraordinary. After a cold, wet winter, April and May were the coldest for thirty years and unusually dry.

Gale force winds and snow signalled the end to yet another mild, dry autumn.

Local beekeeper, John Wilson, tells me that his bees have produced a good crop of honey this year, despite the vagaries of the spring weather.

Migration is fully underway and tracking devices are being used to locate where, in Africa, many of our summer visitors spend the winter.

The third weekend in August (21st & 22nd) saw the first significant rainfall for several weeks.

June has been sunny but dry, making it difficult for many birds to feed their young.

For the first ten days of May the dry northerly airflow and frosts continued so that early nesting birds failed and the dawn and evening chorus stopped.

April has been dominated by high pressure bringing bright, sunny days with a cold, dry, northerly airstream, resulting in some severe frosty nights which have burnt some early blossom.