Blackthorn blossom at SGCR 220323
Inspired by The Resurgence Trust’s latest Spring Equinox celebration on Zoom (21st March 2023), led by Georgie Gilmore, this week’s blog post looks at springing into the new season with an open heart and a sense of trying to find balance in life. The dark days of winter have receded, and the lighter mornings mean, for me, earlier awakenings and more of an impetus to get out into nature, to find the signs of spring that enliven and delight.
Record shot of two male wheatear on fence posts at Speke-Garston Coastal Reserve 180323
Last Saturday afternoon (18th), a friend and I found our first wheatears of the year – three handsome males perched on the usual fence posts at Speke-Garston Coastal Reserve. Their appearance is a sign that some things are still right with the world, even in this time of great anthropogenic flux and general dismay. A sight to brighten and lighten the heart, and to be shared and delighted in with others. Other welcome sights included a changeover at the ravens’ nest: one bird could just about be seen sitting low on the nest, then the other flew in and they shared a loving exchange before the sitter flew off and the other took over. Chiffchaffs called from various places – and I had even heard one from my allotment earlier in the day. We saw mining bees clambering in and out of their holes, bored into the hard earth around Speke Hall pond, and numerous toads mating in the pond itself, sheltered under overhanging vegetation.
An overflowing Speke Hall pond 180323
The blackthorn bushes were bursting with blossom, the yellow gorse perfumed the air with the warming scent of coconut, delicate coltsfoot poked through the long grass, and skylarks ascended, singing their sweet spring song from high above our heads.
Gorgeous gorse at SGCR 180323
Coltsfoot at SGCR 180323
After a difficult winter, it was a joy to return to the rhythm of walking and pausing, observing and talking, retracing steps taken in previous times and rebuilding the sense of wonder and equilibrium that being in nature brings, if we can let it.
I find being active difficult sometimes – as quite an anxious and reserved person, I am not used to propelling myself into action and seizing the day, or even the moment. Procrastination and deliberation rule, the fear of a misstep stopping any motion at all. One part of Georgie’s talk focused on the idea of creating greater balance in our lives between being active and being passive, and how spring is a great way of inviting more activity in. Her phrase “dance a dance of balance” really resonated. Being emotionally balanced enables us to reach further, be our best selves, as we start from a secure, stable place and thus have a safer and more grounded base from which to blossom and change. As I contemplate this, I look forward to spending more time outdoors, observing and revelling in the natural world, and to writing about it, communicating these wonders to others and enjoying their observations, too.
Thank you, Georgie, and thank you, my nature-loving friends in real life and online: you all make this journey so much brighter and lighter.
Pussy willow catkins at SGCR 180323
A Note on Northern Wheatear
The northern wheatear is a summer migrant to the UK; it winters in sub-Saharan Africa and travels north to breed in upland areas in the UK and even further north (if you want to get into the differences between northern and Greenland wheatear, see https://www.birdguides.com/articles/ornithology/greenland-wheatears-drift-further-apart-from-northern/). On Merseyside, it is what we call a ‘passage’ migrant, stopping off to refuel after its long journey, before heading somewhere more suitable to (if male) set up territory, display and attract a mate, then the pair will nest and breed, and hopefully raise a brood of healthy fledglings before returning home across stormy seas and dusty deserts.
First male wheatear of the year at SGCR 140322 – image by BirderJack
Female wheatear at SGCR 110421 – image by BirderJack
See the RSPB website for more information: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/wheatear/.