31st March, 2000
There has been
some typical spring weather recently, with a few hard
frosts making life difficult for plants that have started
to grow and for insects and amphibians that have started
to become active. This morning, the grounds were white
with frost and the newly emerged leaves of some plants,
such as elderberry, were wilting. However, this is The sound of woodpecker drumming is a common one again. Today, I watched a greater spotted woodpecker drumming high in a beech tree. It had found a place where a dead branch has fallen away leaving a thin spike of dry, dead wood. Hammering on this produces a much louder sound than would be produced by a solid piece of living timber.
|
As always, the horse chestnut trees are
the first trees to begin to burst into leaf. The huge,
sticky buds are just beginning to open to reveal the
bright green leaves and the flower buds. It will be a
very short time before the trees are in flower again.
a common sight and most plants recover
from this effect, though not all.