The warm weather has improved the Country Park no end and the vegetation is beginning to look a lot greener. April is the month that the ground flora of woodlands has been waiting for all through the winter. Bluebell leaves are appearing along with ramsons, violets, primroses, dog’s mercury, wood anemone and celandine. All these flowering species make use of the lack of light competition at this time of year. As the woodland trees start to come into leaf, many spring flowering plants are coming towards the end of their life cycle for this season. Marsh marigold will flower any day now in the marsh. Keep an eye out for ladies smock (also known as cuckoo flower) which will soon start to flower in the damp grassy areas and in the marsh. The blackthorn is blossoming in the car park with the laurel in flower around the lake. Hawthorn is the first common tree species to come into full leaf; look at the roadside plantings as these usually are the first.  

Ladies smock, also known as cuckoo flower.

The first of the summer migrants have finally arrived. The first sand martin was recorded on 7^th March (a week earlier than usual), house martin on the 15^th and a swallow on the 17^th. They have since been increasing in numbers daily as more arrive from their winter homes in West Africa to feed on insects over the lake. Chiffchaffs were heard singing on 7^th March. The willow warblers have yet to start their song which is unusual. Willow warblers and chiffchaffs look very similar; the easiest way of differentiation is song. The chiffchaff has an easily recognisable song - a monotonous chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff. The bulk of the summer migrants arrive in April so keep an eye out for sedge warblers, whitethroats and blackcaps. A pair of sparrowhawks were seen displaying last month – hopefully it is the pair that bred in the Park for the previous three years running and will do so again in the conifers.

Swallow - Migrant from Africa

Stover’s birdsong is now noticeably louder and will reach a crescendo by the end of the month. The first blackbird song was finally heard on 5^th March. The songs are used to defend territories and attract mates. The great-spotted woodpeckers are carrying on with their own version – drumming on hollow trees to announce their territories. Long-tailed tits are now busily building their nests in the gorse, along with blackbirds, mistle thrushes, robins and crows.

On the lake our resident great-crested grebes, coots and moorhens are also nest-building. Great-crested grebe courtship is worth watching – they fluff up their ruffs, shake their heads and present each other with water-weed staying beak to beak.

One pair of great-crested grebes started to sit on their eggs on 1^st April. The mallards are also sitting on eggs so it won’t be long before the ducklings start to hatch. Some predated mallard eggs were found on 23^rd March.

The cormorant, black-headed gull, tufted duck and pochard numbers have now dropped as summer approaches. Up to 5 herring gulls and 2 great black-backed gulls were seen on the lake over the last month, with the heron and kingfisher visiting frequently.

Any warm day in March will encourage the emergence of butterflies.  These have hibernated during the winter as adults; peacock and small tortoishell over-winter in hollow trees and ivy thickets. Brimstone, comma and red admiral are other species most likely to be seen in March. The first brimstone was spotted on 7^th March along with the first peacock on the 18^th and comma on the 30^th. Keep an eye out for silky drapes over the tips of young stinging nettles – within them are the first batches of small tortoishell and peacock caterpillars. Look out for orange-tips which will emerge this month, the males before the females. They time their annual flight to coincide with the opening of the flowers of the caterpillar’s food plants. These include the pale purple-pink flowers of lady’s smock and hedge garlic. The females lay only one minute orange egg per plant, because the caterpillars become cannibals if they have to compete for food.

The wood ants should make an appearance soon. They have spent the winter hibernating underground beneath their nests which have slowly rotted down over the winter. They will start to rebuild their large nests out of conifer needles. First the ants all congregate on top of the nest remains in a seething mass using the sun’s heat to warm up their bodies. They then go back to the middle of the nest transporting this heat to its core. The first of the damselflies will be on the wing in April. Watch out for the large red damselflies around the lake and ditches as they are usually the first to appear. St Mark’s flies emerge around St Mark’s Day on 25^th April and generally swarm round the hawthorn trees.

A large red damselfly emerging. Photo courtesy of Ron Champion.

Fox and badger cubs will start to play above ground this month. Roe deer bucks will shortly be shedding the velvet coat from their antlers. They do this by rubbing against bushes and small trees. Bats, lizards, adders and grass-snakes should shortly be coming out of hibernation. The first grass-snake was seen on 7^th March, with the first tadpoles on the 24^th and the first lizards on the 30^th. More frogs and toads will be spawning this month making easy meals for the grass-snakes. Keep an eye out for the snakes swimming across the lake or ponds. The newt breeding season is now underway. There have been no sightings of the red-eared terrapin so far this year – he could have found another log to sun bathe on so he may still have made it through to another year.

Sustainable charcoal, made from timber felled within the park will soon be available for sale in the Visitor Centre.  The prices are very competitive; all monies will be ploughed back into projects conserving the biodiversity of the Park.  

Last months volunteers day was spent on the heath removing birch and rhododendron scrub which was shading out the heather.

This summer’s events programme is posted on the notice boards and will also be available on the Stover Website www.devon.gov.uk.  Please get in quick if you would like to ensure a place for any of the ‘booking only’ events as they can fill up fast.