Just as winter is at its dreariest the wildflowers are starting to pop up. In sheltered spots dog’s mercury, primroses, celandine and snowdrops are already in flower. Coltsfoot and sweet violet are ready to appear, once the temperatures rise, to attract the emerging insects. Coltsfoot flowers before its leaves appear giving rise to its common name of ‘son-before-father’. Hemlock water-dropwort, dandelion and yellow flag leaves have started to emerge. Marsh marigold, also known as kingcup, is one of the earliest blooming wetland flowers. It is often in flower by the end of February giving the marsh a welcome splash of colour. The pussy willow, alder and hazel catkins will open and shed their pollen this month (the hazel is already doing so). Unlike other early flowering trees, the pussy willow (also known as goat willow or sallow) doesn’t use the wind for pollination. It secretes nectar which attracts early flies, bees and butterflies which then inadvertently carry the pollen from plant to plant as they feed. Keep an eye out for the buds of hazel and elder which will soon begin to burst.

Violets should be in flower by the end of the month

During February the dawn chorus will get louder every day. In particular listen out for Britain’s largest thrush, the mistle thrush, which was first heard singing on 4^th January. Its smaller cousin, the song thrush, started to sing on the 13^th. Dunnocks, great tits, coal tits, nuthatches and treecreepers have also joined in, adding to the wrens and robins already singing in December. Great-spotted woodpeckers start to ‘drum’ in February to mark out their territories, along with the smaller lesser-spotted woodpecker which has a longer, fainter ‘drum’. If February’s weather is mild and the food supply is good then some birds will start to breed. In mild years robins, blackbirds, dunnocks and song thrushes lay their first clutch of eggs by the end of February. Tawny owls will produce eggs before the end of February also. Chiffchaffs were spotted in the park during January. These birds will be part of the over-wintering population which are often overlooked until they start to sing in March and are joined by migrants from the continent.

The bird activity at the walkway is excellent at the moment so it’s well worth a visit to view the woodland birds such as nuthatches, great-spotted woodpeckers and the tit family. Goldcrests can be seen in the conifer at this time of year. They are the smallest birds in Britain so subsequently, when the weather is very severe, their populations take a tumble. They soon recover however after a few mild winters. Roosts of greenfinches, chaffinches and redwing are found in the rhododendron overnight, the temperature in these bushes being a few degrees warmer than the outside air. Brambling were also seen coming into the roosts at the end of January. A sparrowhawk has become wise to the activities of the finches and can often be seen hunting just before dusk as they come in to roost.

Brambling — a winter visitor to Stover

On the lake up to 9 cormorant have been recorded during the last month. Some are already displaying their white thigh breeding patches. The highest count of pochard and tufted duck was 21 and 19 respectively. The male mallards are now looking their best for the coming breeding season. Teal were seen throughout January – 3 males and 4 females were spotted on the 6^th. The marsh is a very important habitat for insects in the summer and for roosting waders in the winter - 110 snipe were recorded during January. The kingfisher and heron have been active and can be seen frequently. A few black-headed gulls are already displaying their ‘black headed’ summer plumage. A few herring and common gulls have been present on the lake throughout January. More unusually at Stover a great black-backed gull was seen on 10^th January. Unfortunately, like last winter, no goosanders visited the lake during last month. Goosanders are the largest of the three British sawbills. It is a freshwater diving duck that is a winter visitor to the south. The great-crested grebes left the lake for a couple of weeks over Christmas and early January to head for the coast – a pair returned on 18^th January. If you’re walking round the lake keep an eye on the grebes and you may be lucky enough to witness their elaborate and graceful courtship display. The swans’ courting season is just about to start too. The female scaup stayed on the lake for most of January. It looks like a female tufted duck but has a broad white face patch at the base of its bill. A pair of moorhen were nest building on 30^th January.

One of five snipe ringed in the southern marsh

This is the time of year when the vegetation tends to be at its lowest. Most plants have been beaten down by the rain and frost, leaving fewer and fewer hiding places, which makes this an excellent time to be out spotting mammals. Foxes are very active at this time of year so you will almost certainly get a whiff of one somewhere in the Park. The vixens will start to move into their dens this month. You will be less likely to see badgers in February as they are at present giving birth to their cubs underground, so will only leave their setts infrequently. Look out for evidence of a good clear out around setts such as fresh soil and old bedding. Moles construct a multi-layered tunnel system which acts as a trap for invertebrates such as earthworms, instead of continually digging to catch their prey. In cold weather, however, the invertebrates burrow deeper into the earth to escape the cold surface soil, and the mole is obliged to dig new, deeper tunnel traps, throwing up new mole-hills as it does so. Therefore, it is quite common at this time of year to spot fresh mole-hills. Otters have been active at Stover during the past month with fresh spraints appearing around the concrete bridge regularly. Frogs will return to their breeding ponds to spawn this month. On sunny days keep an eye out for Brimstone butterflies which are normally the earliest butterfly of the year to be on the wing. This year the first one was a red admiral, seen on 27^th January.

Brimstone butterfly

The picnic area is having some restoration works carried out at present and should be re-opened by Easter.

January’s volunteers’ day went very well – volunteers spent the day removing scrub from one of the heaths. This month we will be working in one of the woodlands (24^th February) – chat to the rangers if you’re interested in joining us - everyone is welcome.