Everything changes, everything remains the same

The snow has melted, the first day of Spring has come and gone and suddenly winter is over.
After the late February and mid-March snow the wood looked flattened and brown with collapsed bracken, and it was difficult to recall the lush green growth of Spring and Summer. Yet even in the snow the wild daffodils pushed through and the hazel catkins have been blooming by the road since February.

Wild daffodils (taken Mar 15th) showing early buds

Every spring I seem to be writing about the daffodils - like this post from last year or this one from 2016. This is because for me the daffs are the truest and most regular sign that the cold is on its way out and once again the wood is about start a new cycle. I can even put my finger on the date Spring arrived this year: 22nd -23rd March was the definite tipping point, the pivot between dormancy and potential. On the 22nd the day was chill and grey, and all looked flat and just - waiting. On the 23rd, the breeze was a couple of degrees warmer, a weak sun appeared and a faint green could be seen on the tops of the goat willow.

What is noticeable this Spring is how the wood has responded to the additional light from thinning the plantation and efforts on bracken control.The bluebells have extended their range by a further four metres or so into the areas which have been cleared of bracken. A variety of grasses,  ferns,  moss, bilberry, heather, figwort and wood sorrel are also appearing in spaces where there was once just bracken.

Almost impossible to find a way through the collapsed bracken

Contrast the dead bracken with the patches of green growth here, and many other places where bracken has been removed

 A surprise patch of wood anenome appeared last Spring. Before I had time to take a photo, the flowers had gone,  presumably eaten by deer. We hope they might re-appear this Spring and also  hope that the same fate isn't in store for the several clumps of  flowering primroses that have found a home in the dappled birch shade, in the entrance and parking area.

Woodland wildlife is starting to move too. The fishermen report lots of toad activity at the edge of the pond. The cold weather has meant the toads have been late emerging from hibernation, but are now evidently making up for lost time. The males have been leaving their hidey-holes in piles of leaves and logs, and have come down to the pond to wait at the edge of the water for their potential mates to arrive.

We saw two big buff tailed bumble bees  - possibly queens as they tend to emerge earliest - crawling over the moss in search of nectar and pollen. And the tawny owls are getting up earlier and earlier, starting calling from lunchtime onwards. Presumably they found little to eat in the snow and are now hunting as much as they can  - another species determined to get a move on. 

Spring

The primrose is an ancient woodland indicator species in the south of England. There is a clump beyond the gate and a few plants scattered in the grassy area just beyond the entrance.It will be interesting to see if this species returns next year in response to thinning of trees along the woodland ride to allow more light to penetrate.

Wood sorrel is another ancient indicator species associated with damp woods. The  flower has pale lilac striped petals and trefoil leaves. It is present throughout the wood in damp areas, but is most common  along the margins. Other early flowering species are both dog and early dog violet, with  heart shaped leaves, ground ivy, an evergreen member of the mint family with mauve flowers, and coltsfoot, which is situated in the grassy area near the gate. This yellow dandelion like plant is typical of disturbed ground, and a distinctive feature is that the flowers appear before the hoof shaped leaves.

The most common plant is the bluebell, yet another ancient woodland indicator and very typical of weald woodlands. These flowers are just beginning to appear,  by next month they will  spread throughout the wood. Not yet in flower, but beginning to appear are lords and ladies, with arrow shaped leaves, and an unidentified currant. Both are growing near the old embankment along the Grouse Road boundary.

Sightings: This tawny owl was seen roosting in the wood one sunny morning. A further probable sighting occurred on a subsequent visit when a large greyish bird with shortish wings was disturbed near the quarry and flew away towards the road and disappeared.