March 2021

Grey Heron

3rd - The grey heron now has a name - Percy (for perseverance) - back twice today.

Snakeshead fritillaries Snakeshead fritillaries

3rd - Snakeshead fritillaries - now in two places in the garden.

Dublin bay rose shoot Helibore in flower Buddleia starting to grow Primroses Poppy starting to grow

3rd - The climbing rose (Dublin Bay) is looking vigorous while the hellebores give some nice colour at this time of year. The buddleia grows no matter how much you cut it back! Primroses and poppy are looking good.

Heron by the garden pond

4th - Percy is back pretending to be a garden ornament...if only....

Hellebore in flower Lungwort providing some garden colour

6th - Hellebores and lungwort providing some nice colour at this time of year.

Fresh growth on holly bush Lords and Ladies growing well Daffodils about to flower Foxglove plants

6th - Some new growth on the holly; Lords and Ladies continuing to flourish; soon have a daffodil? Foxgloves have survived the winter.

Cowslips starting to bloom Primroses in flower Oxlips starting to bloom

6th - Cowslips, primroses and ox-lips - nice to see variety.

Lichen and growth on apple tree Northern Marsh Orchid

6th - Still fascinated by the growth on the apple trees. First sight of the northern marsh orchid!

Bunch of crocus in garden. Insect collecting pollen from white crocus flower

7th - Love the colours of the crocus - and they provide good pollen as well.

Buds appearing on apple tree Bedding plant about to flower

7th - Nice to see buds on the apple tree while getting some more colour from the bedding plants.

Grey heron taking off Grey heron with newt

7th - Percy is determined - looks like one of my newts has gone!

White tailed bee on ivy

7th - White tailed bee on some ivy.

Signs of growth on Clematis Unidentified green shoots in the garden.

8th - Signs of growth on the Clematis while I am not sure what these green shoots are!

Frogs in pond

9th - Frogs and the time of year.

Frogs in garden pond

11th - Lot's of frogs in the pond - one less now that Tawny Owl brought one to the nest box!

12th - Highlight of my day - a tawny owl in the nest box - will it stay?

Oxlip thinking about flowering Lungwort in sunshine Crocus in flower

12th - Oxlip, Lungwort and crocus bring some colour to a cool day.

Hellebores Purple heather in sunlight Daffodils about to flower

12th - Hellebore, heather and daffodils to add some colour.

Plant to be identified

12th - Still not sure what this is - time will tell!

Flowering daffoidls Snakeshead fritillaries Green shoots

16th - First daffodils opened; snakeshead doing well and still no idea what these shoots will be!

Insect on heather Winged insect on heather Winged insect on heather Winged insect on heather Insect on heather Fly on heather Winged insect on heather Bee on heather Fly on heather

16th - Lot's of insects enjoying the warmth and the heather.

Group of flowering crocus Open crocus flower Insect hovering over ope crocus

16th - More crocus to enjoy - they really do bring some colour into the garden.

Frogs in the pond

16th - Even the frogs came out in the warmth of the sun.

Buds on Leaping Salmon rose Buds on Dublin Bay rose

17th - Leaping Salmon and Dublin Bay climbing roses are looking good as is the goat willow.

Hellebores in flower Colourful bedding plant Colourful bedding plant Colourful bedding plant

17th - Hellebores and some more nice splashes of colour appearing.

Jacob's ladder plant Oxlips starting to bloom Forget me nots starting to flower Bathing wood pigeons

17th - Jacobs Ladder, oxlips, forget me nots and bathing wood pigeons.

A pair of Tawny Owl eggs in a nest box

17th - Early evening update - now have two eggs in the Tawny Owl nest box - easy to see when she leaves for dinner!

Three Tawny Owl eggs in nest box

19th - Now we have three!!!

Clump of Snakshead fritillaries Frog in pond

19th - Snakeshead fritillaries looking good. Frogs are taking their chances with the heron(s).

Morning dew on grass

20th - Lovely dew on the grass this morning.

Clump of garlic First growth of rhubarb Two small stems of northern marsh orchid Early growth of bugle Small clump of Lords and Ladies Clump of lung wort Buds of marsh marigold Flowering oxlips

21st - Garlic is doing well - should help keep the greenfly off the roses! More rhubarb appearing along with another two northern marsh orchids and bugle. The Lords & Ladies seem to have spread to another part of the garden while lungwort gives good colour. The marsh marigolds are under netting to keep the heron off... Flowering oxlips.

Blackbird feeding from peanut log Fly on heather Bee on heather

Fly on conifer

21st - A hovering blackbird going for the peanut butter log while more insects are appearing.

Pear tree buds Apple tree buds Goat willow starting to flower - close up

22nd - Pear and apple trees appear okay - while goat willow is doing nicely.

Crocus patch looking very tired for this year. Primrose in flower Cowslips starting to form buds Flowering buds on clematis Freida

22nd - The crocuses do not look quite so good in the grass anymore while primroses and cowslips are good. Clematis Freda is starting to flower.

Hellebores in flower Bluesbell growing beneath trees Snakeshead fritillaries starting to show flowers Buds on apple tree Oxlips in flower

27th - Hellebores still showing well. Bluebells looking lonely. Snakeshead fritillaries starting to show their true colours. Apple trees are looking hopeful while the oxlips are braving the weather.

30th - Frog spawn today - counted no less than 20 frogs in the pond. They may feel safer now the "heron net" is in place.

Heather looking marvellous in the sun Cowslips beginning to flower Narcissi in flower Hawthorn beginning to flower

30th - The heather looked lovely in the sun today. Some more cowslips appearing while the hawthorn is beginning to show.