April 2026 Ramsbury Nature Notes by Peter Marren

Whitlow grass

After a mild, if excessively wet, winter, spring came early this year. Frogs were spawning as early as February, ladybirds were emerging from hibernation, and over-wintering butterflies were on the wing, mainly peacocks, commas and male brimstones. It never ceases to amaze me that these brimstones are still fresh and bright despite being seven months old (they emerged from the chrysalis last July). By the beginning of March there were bees about, both newly emerged mining bees and overwintering queen bumblebees. Other early spring beasties included the glossy black oil beetle and the fuzzy, hovering bee-fly, jabbing the first flowers with its rapier-like tongue.

Among the first hedgerow blossoms of the year are flowering Prunus. First comes the cherry plum, usually as a small tree, closely followed in some hedges by wild plum or bullace, which may have originated as a hybrid between cherry plum and sloe. Both have relatively large flowers. The smaller, more whiskery flowers of sloe (or blackthorn as its usually called in the spring) come a little later but this year was coming into flower on the sunny side of hedges by the first days in March. Our celandines and primroses were on time, but were not as prolific as last year. More easily missed are dainty flowers like whitlow grass which formed strips of foam-like florets along the slats of the sagging Loft Bridge, or the shimmer of mauve from the massed flowers of Danish scurvy-grass on the traffic islands where our road meets the A4 at Hungerford. Originally a seaside plant, it has moved inland on roadways treated with salt.

Wild daffodils also were early, and fully out by the end of February. We are lucky enough to have several colonies of this subtle daffodil, shorter- and paler than garden varieties. The golden male catkins of willows were out too, well before the leaves, and they offer a welcome source of nectar and pollen for early bees. The osiers and purple willows that form thickets along the seven bridges path were favourites of basket- makers and may have been planted for that purpose long ago. We are high on willow diversity: I once counted no fewer than eight different kinds along our bit of Newtown Road!