Another Record-breaking Month

Another month of surprises - one of the warmest Marches on record. The temperature reached 23C here last week. And virtually no rain! Everything is topsy turvy. The bluebells started to flower in the middle of March, at least a month early. There are lots of flowers in bloom but the lack of rain seems to have delayed the leaves on the trees. Strange indeed.



There has been frantic activity in the garden this month. The birds are in furious nest-building mode. The long-tailed tits are building their nest in one of the ornamental firs next to the driveway. They have been fluttering around my office window collecting spiders webs that accumulate around my window.

A pair of great tits have started building in the new nest box on the pergola. This is usually blue tit territory.

Last week I was watching a Red Kite collecting twigs for a nest which I think is in our garden. I am not completely sure where but it is very exciting if such magnificent birds of prey are nesting here.

The hares are out in force. There were five of them in the garden last week, but no opportunity for photos. They are one of my favourite animals.

There is also a new baby muntjac. I spotted it last week with its mother just as it was getting dark, so no decent photo.

The warm weather has also brought out the butterflies. I have seen brimstone, holly blue, large white, orange tip and the comma below which was sun-bathing with a blowfly on my Cherry Laurel last week!



I will finish off with a photo of a pair of wood anemones. There are lots of them among the primroses, wood sorrel and violets, all of which are flowering really early.




I have set myself a challenge for April. I plan to photograph a flower each day for the whole month, hoping that I can manage 30 different ones. I hope the weather does not deteriorate too much. Photographing flowers is impossible in wind and rain. Fingers crossed.