Scots pine – Bee in the Moment

The previous Sunday brought a little light relief as snow covered most of the UK. My childhood excitement of seeing the snow returned, so the days exercise was a walk through the local woodland park.

As I wondered past trees I began to notice odd glimpses of colour amongst the white and greys. Upon closer inspection I could see catkins already dangling along with female flowers ready to bloom on the Hazel (Corylus avellana) trees.

The male catkins are more showy than the tiny female flowers (which appear at the end of buds and harder to spot).

A very enlarged photo showing the red styles of the female flowers.

I also saw female flowers and cones on several Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris).

A closer view of the female flowers at the end of new shoots.

Surprisingly, given it was still snowing at the time, lots of birds were about too. I saw Redwing (Turdus iliacus), Blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), a small group of noisy Long tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus) as well as a male Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) amongst the trees.

Redwings are migratory birds, from Iceland, Scandinavia and even Russia. Named after the red area under the wings, they can be seen in the UK between October and spring.

Throughout the week, as the snow slowly disappeared, I saw different birds visiting my Rowan (Sorbus) tree. I had never seen a Mistle thrush (Turdus viscivorus)

or male Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) visit the tree before.

Perhaps the reduced availability of food, during the snowy weather, made them search further afield than usual. Thankfully they found the remaining, mostly dried, berries on the Rowan tree outside my window.

Mistle thrush, so named because of their love of eating mistletoe (and guarding trees where it grows) also visit Rowan and Holly (Ilex) trees for their berries as well as eat worms, slugs and insects. They are larger and duller in colour than Song thrush (Turdus philomelos). Their spots are darker and rounder plus they have white tips to their tails. In fact they are larger than Blackbirds (unlike Song thrushes).

Wonderfully, there were even more flowers blooming in the garden too. I saw

Lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis),

Crocus and

lots of Cyclamen.

This week has been surreal as lock down brings a change to life. Thankfully nature still continues to progress through Spring. Since the Vernal equinox arrived last weekend the weather warmed up and the sun shone daily. Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) and Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria) butterflies are flitting around now, joining Seven-spot ladybirds (Coccinellaseptempunctata) and Buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) that already emerged.
I have been viewing nature from my flat as much as possible. Seeing the leaves unfurl on the Rowan (Sorbus) tree outside as well as the Blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), which visit the tree each day, has been lovely. However to get exercise and improve my mental health I have also gone for a few local walks (while observing social distancing measures). It is important for me to be amongst nature and feel the air around me to remain happy. During these lock down walks I have noticed plants both bloom and begin to wake up including;