Signs of Spring!

 The seasons have come around fast, probably because I’ve spent the vast majority of the last year inside a flat. Somehow, in spite of the pandemic, the world is still turning and once again spring is starting to, well, spring up everywhere. The park is extremely muddy at the moment from a winter of trampling while going for a walk in the park has become the highlight of most people’s weeks. Getting off the main paths is a pretty mucky thing to do right now, so most of our sojourns into the park have stuck to the hard surfaces.

Red deer ignoring the early joggers

Spring seems to get earlier every year with late February now being the time when we get our first reliably warm days. This is another reminder of how much our climate is changing, and all over the place people are spotting things that would usually not appear until March or even April. The Woodland Gardens are full of daffodils at the moment with some wonderful glades smothered in them. The woodpeckers are also busily defining their territories and seeing off the competition through drumming on the trees. Greater-Spotted and Green woodpeckers are both abundant in Bushy Park but I’ve yet to see the elusive Lesser-spotted there. Sadly these tiny little woodpeckers may no longer be resident, but I live in hope that I’ll find one this year.

Daffodils in bloom again

The hawthorns are starting to show their leaf buds nicely – if you’ve ever had difficulty telling them apart from the blackthorn then remember that they sprout leaves first, then flowers rather than the other way round for the blackthorn. There’s a line of hawthorns that stretch down a fairly wide earthen path that heads to the bridge between the two plantation gardens which I particularly love. Their branches are festooned with mistletoe and they mark ancient field boundaries from before the park existed and the land here was farmed. Bushy is full of reminders of its history dotted around its landscape and the remains of field systems can also be found between the Longford River and the Pheasantry Platation.

Right now the thing to look out for is migrating amphibians as they make their way to their breeding ponds. To see them it’s best to enter the park on a mild night, searching near the pools and ditches. The star attractions are the toads, some of which get to be very big, and will often by found in quite large numbers ambling their way across paths. I have a favoured spot for finding them – one is between the Canal Plantation and the boundary wall where in some years a torch has been essential to stop them from getting squished! The other is by the Teddington Cricket Club – we suspect they must hibernate underneath the building and there’s also a ditch running behind the wall here. Very often one will be plodding along the path here and right on cue we managed to find one a few nights ago. If you search in the Woodland Gardens during the day you’re likely to find frogspawn in some of the ponds; the big clumps are laid by common frogs and these are also living in the park.

A common toad

One thing I would discourage though is torching in the pools with bright lights. If you do this, fascinating though it may be, you’ll be disturbing the amphibians and technically breaking the law. Frogs and toads are all very well but Bushy is also home to two newt species – the common (or smooth newt) and the heavily protected great-crested newt. These animals are spectacular – larger than the common newts with a warty skin, like miniature dragons. Its best to stick to the tarmacked paths at night during Spring in case you step on one – the very first time we saw one we’d seen a smooth newt on the path a moment before and then my wife spotted a second newt just ahead. When I shone my head torch at it I was surprised and delighted to find the huge warty shape of a female great-crested newt making her way to water. Don’t obstruct them and don’t annoy them – it’s a criminal offense to disturb these animals, even accidentally, and they’re best left to their own devices. Although I know the locations of their breeding pools, I don’t go looking for them, although we have come across them a couple of times now.

So keep an eye out for returning frogs, toads and newts as the days warm up. Pretty soon there are going to be tadpoles and we can look forward to another spring and summer of wildlife with, hopefully, the chance to range a bit further from home!