Harbingers Of Spring (Hazeleigh Wood 12th & 19th Feb 2023)

As the days are getting noticeably longer, a couple of recent visits to Hazeleigh Wood (with Maureen Bissell, Simon Wood, Andy Stock and Carla Davis), highlighted the seasonal changes taking place amongst our wildlife.

Perhaps as a consequence of last summer’s drought, last year’s leaves were looking particularly brown and faded. The appearance of the first flowers provided a refreshing boost of colour. Most obvious were Snowdrops, a few Crocuses and Primroses, along with the ubiquitous Red Dead Nettle and Chickweed. Both Buff-tailed and Early Bumblebees were seen nosing around these blooms.

Snowdrops, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023

Primsoses, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023

Other flowers are more subtle, such as the woodland specialities Dogs Mercury and Climbing Corydalis.

Dogs Mercury, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023

The male catkins of Hazel trees, the familiar “lamb’s tails” of spring, were out in full. A closer look revealed many of the female flowers were out in bloom, looking like tiny sea anemones. A Yew beside the main path was also in bloom, the appearance of the flowers demonstrating that it was a male tree.

Hazel catkins, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023

Hazel flower, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023

Yew flowers, Hazeleigh Wood, Feb 2023

The main motivation for these visits was for Simon to check on the moth traps that Simon had been running overnight. One look at them in the morning showed that there were an awful lot of moths on the wing overnight. It was hard to judge the total figures. The number of species was only just into double figures but there were hundreds of individual moths.

They were all species that have adapted to appearing in the initial months of the year, perhaps in an attempt to evade predators that are not active till later in the Spring. The names of many moths are evocative of the time of year. The two most numerous on our February visits were Winter Shade and Spring Usher. There were also a lot of Pale Brindled Beauty as well as good numbers of Small Brindled Beauty, Dotted Border and March Moths. The females of all the macro moths just mentioned are in fact wingless- thought to be a tactic to save their energies for egg production at a time of year when energy is at a premium.

Pale Brindled Beauty, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023

Small Brindled Beauty, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023

Dotted Border, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023

Compared with many of the moths that appear later in the year it would be easy to dismiss the colourings of all these early spring moths as dull. It is all just camouflage however, matching the shades of dead leaves and bark, and there is a subtle beauty to their markings. It is striking to see how variable some of them are, particularly the Spring Usher.

Spring Usher, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023

One of the great things about looking in a moth trap, is seeing what the ‘by-catch’ is- creatures other than moths that have been attracted by the light. Over the couple of nights this included two Minotaurs. Impressive, chunky beetles that hibernate but occasionally wake from their slumbers if the weather is warm enough. 

Minotaur Beetle, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023

As with moths, large orders of insects often have outlier species that are active at the start of the year. When there are fewer related species on the wing it can be easier to identify them. Two that were attracted to the lights were an early hoverfly, Meliscaeva auricollis, and an ichneumid wasp, Ophion obscuratus agg. 

Ophion obscuratus, Hazeleigh Wood, November 2022 (photo from last year)

Finally, a mention of a couple of moths we caught that are a sign that the next wave is on the way: Common Quaker and Oak Beauty. 

Common Quaker, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023

Oak Beauty, Hazeleigh Wood, February 2023

Now looking forward to the first Chiffchaffs returning to the woods!