In the garden
It doesn’t seem two minutes since the snowdrops peeped through and dancing daffodils brightened our days. Now it’s the turn of the butterflies and bees to spring into action. Peacock butterflies are one of the most easily identifiable from the ‘eyes’ on their wings – a warning sign to potential predators to stay away.
Those with garden ponds are likely to find a hubbling, bubbling mass of frogspawn and then tadpoles – did you know frog tadpoles are brown with a faint speckle while toad tadpoles are black?
On the bird front, there may appear to be some absent friends as the garden’s usual suspects such as robins and thrushes keep to their nests to concentrate on raising a family – a good many gardens will have incubating eggs somewhere in their hedges or trees.
And as the weather warms up, summer migrants start to return. Swallows, with their distinctive long tail streamers, are fairly easy to spot as they twist and turn in the air like acrobats in search of insects. You might also see similar but chunkier house martins – they may even decide to move in if you have a roof over-hang as they live up to their name.
On the cliff tops
Everyone’s talking about ’nuffin but puffins.’ This is the seabird everyone wants to see. People come from far and wide just to catch a glimpse of them. So having puffins right on your doorstep is an amazing thing – especially as they feature on the IUCN red list of endangered species. In fact, the puffin is now as much under threat as the African elephant and the lion.
Last year’s puffin count recorded around 3000 along our stretch of coast (this year’s count has been delayed by the Beast from the East) where they come to nest in the nooks and crannies of the cliffs, safe from predators.
Puffins, with their unmistakable colourful beaks. are oceanic birds. Built like Olympic swimmers, with powerful chests, they only come on to land during their breeding season. So they can only be spotted on or from the cliffs between April – early August.
The good news is that one pair has taken up residence very close to our main viewpoint, Grandstand, which is only a short walk from our visitor centre. (Of course, they’re wild birds so we can never guarantee they’ll put in an appearance).
To celebrate puffin season, there’s a free puffin trail along the cliff tops – a fun, fact-filled activity that young and not so young can enjoy at their own pace.
And RSPB’s Puffin and Gannet cruises start this month and often give remarkable views of low flying puffins scooting across the waves – something you don’t see every day. And something we may not see at all in the future.
