Woodland plants

In woods, the ground flora has to grow and flower before the tree canopy shuts out the light. So plants like dog's mercury, wild garlic, the golden leaved saxifrages and bluebells too are all shooting up now and wood sorrel won't be far behind. In a few limestone woods, the rare Daphne Mezereon will also open its purple-red flowers to the warming sun, a useful source of nectar for early pollinators.

Insect action

The species of butterfly that hibernate as adults have all put in an appearance now with the last to appear, the brimstone, emerging this week. While a few peacocks, red admirals and small tortoiseshells have been seen for some time, it is only in the last week that the first brimstones have emerged. The bright yellow males are unmistakable whereas the paler females could be confused with large whites which appear later. 

On cow pats, I've seen plenty of yellow dung flies, Scathophaga stercorcaria. The adults are predators on smaller insects, mostly other flies. Both males and females are found on dung, The males only feeding on other insects that visit dung, such as blow-flies. Females will be there both to feed and lay their eggs on the dung surface.

Migrant birds are arriving

Chiffchaffs are now 'chiff-chaffing' at many sites in the county. Sand martins have been recorded across the UK though none yet in this county as far as I know. Wheatears have begun to appear inland as well as on the coast but again, we await our first here. Curlews are only partial migrants but those that nest in the county are reappearing at their mostly upland breeding sites. Three have been seen at Common Farm for example.
Little ringed plovers are also returning to the sand and gravel pits and the other bare stoney habitats which they favour.

Derby's peregrines complete their clutch

The Cathedral pair now have a full clutch of four eggs and incubation has begun. It will be around Easter (20th April) that the first egg should begin to hatch. 

See the blog and web cams:  Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project - 2025.

Recent publicity about the egg laying has boosted the number of hits currently at 50,000 since January.
Overall, the total number of hits has reached an amazing 5,500,000 since the webcams and blog were set up by Nick Moyes in 2007.

Amphibia

I took my head torch down to my garden pond the other evening after dark and was pleased to see a couple of smooth newts. This is the species which is commonly found in small garden ponds. Palmate newts prefer more acidic water and are rare in garden ponds. The males develop swollen, black and webbed back feet and a thin filament protruding from the end of their tails. March is the month when toads return to their breeding sites but they will wait for wet and warmer nights before they start moving.

More flowers open up

This week I've seen the yellow flowers of coltsfoot, marsh marigold and lesser celandine and the small red flowers of elms among others. Coltsfoot is a plant of waste ground and poor, usually clayey, soils. It occurs in almost every square in the county!

A supposed cure for coughs, you can still find sticks of coltsfoot rock on sale in some alternative food shops such as Nature's Choice in Ashbourne. I've tasted better sweets it has to be said!