Today is the last day of February and the weather is a bit stormy right now, but considerably milder than it has been. However, we had daytime temperatures briefly climb up to 16 degrees Celsius two days ago, and stay at 12 degrees Celsius through the following night, which led to a wonderful surprise the following morning – frogspawn.
There have been some other signs of warmer sunnier weather, although much less spectacular than frogspawn. Namely, 7-spot Ladybirds and Green Shieldbugs sunbathing on plants on warmer afternoons.
Wild primroses (Primula vulgaris) have also begun to bloom all over Wicklow. You can see them along hedgerows, usually on exposed banks at the bottom of trees. They really stand out at this time of year.
But probably the most important flower of all to bloom in spring is also the most overlooked and least appreciated – the dandelion. Dandelions produce a massive amount of pollen and are very important to insects. They are especially popular with Honey Bees. Here is one of the first I’ve seen this year.
Finally, here’s something much less obvious to look for. The drab little bird below is a Chaffinch, and you might think it’s a female, but if you look closely you will see it is tinged at the edges with the the bright colours of an adult male. This little bird is a young male and in the next few months will wear the sky blue and salmon pink of an adult. He might even breed this year. It’s highly likely. He has a lot of living ahead of him.