News for April 2013
25th April, more warm weather, and the Blackthorn is just starting to come into blossom, at present on a few sheltered bushes. Near the pond I caught this Peacock butterfly feeding on the blackthorn flowers in the morning sunshine.

Picture of Blackthorn blossom

At least two Newts were seen in the pond, but only after watching for some time, one came up for air then it dived  and burried itself in the weed at the bottom of the pond. There are also Diving beetles, Water boatmen in the water, and Whirlygig beetles whizzing around on the surface.

In other areas there are more Cowslips, lots of yellow Celandines, and the Marsh Marigolds as reported earlier. The Marsh Marigolds in the pond are at their best now.

In Old Churchfurlong, a few Field Woodrush are to be seen by the observant, they are tiny plant no more than  2 inches (50mm) tall,  and visible at present while the grass is short. A couple of views are shown below to show what these are like in close up.
Picture of Field WoodrushPicture of  field woodrush
Nearby the first Adders Tongue are just visible.

The Knapweed is starting to grow, and Meadowsweet, but there is no sign yet of the Cockoo Flower, more commonly know as Lady's Smock, which is usually in flower by now.

18th April, Thursday,
Finally it has warmed up, with temperatures above 10C, and everything has started to grow, (below left). The wind continues to dry out the ground, but the pond remains full.

Picture of growing budsPicture of  cowslip

I found one very small cowslip, and the larger one show, above right, both in old church furlong.
There are now lots of Celandines (below left), mainly near the pond. And in the pond several Marsh Marigold are in flower (below right), in fact this is about the best time to see them.
In the pond a diving beetle was seen, along with the usual water boatmen, but no Newts were noticed.

Picture of blackthornPicture of  ladybird
A female Redstart was spotted near to the tennis court, in the Rec, with its buff front and grey uppers, it could have been overlooked, but when it flew about the red of its tail, led to identification. Redstarts are summer visitors, so this bird may be on transit to somewhere else, or it could be taking up residence in Stewkley.

6th April, Saturday,
It has remained cold, but dry, with a strong very dry eastery wind, which has dried out everything. Patches of water and mud remain, but otherwise it is getting easier to walk around. Today was sunny and much warmer than recently.
Picture of woodpecker damage

Just near the pond, the logs attached to the fence, which have holes drilled in them to provide nesting places for Bees, show evidence of being attacked by a woodpecker, probably to get at any bee grub that may be there, or some other type of wood boring bug.
Nearby the buds on the Blackthorn is showing that we may soon see the hedges covered with the white blossom, which will finally herald spring and some warmer weather, below left. While below left shows a ladybird warming itself in the sunshine.
Picture of blackthornPicture of  ladybird
A few White Violets are still in flower in the Jackdaw, where Celandines are also coming into flower at last, after one or two appearing a few weeks ago, and then disappearing.





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