6 May to 11 May

Five warm spring walks

Friday 6 May to Wednesday 11 May 2016

After a cold start to spring there was a sudden change in the temperature on Friday 6th May.  Instead of the usual maximums of 10 to 12 degrees C - the temperature “soared” to a predicted max of 17 degrees on Friday, then gradually increased until it reached 21 degrees on Monday - a record high for the 9th of May on the Island.  This was followed by three more hot days before it started to return to more normal temperatures for this time of year.  The unusually hot sunny spell of weather caused a surge in spring growth - blossom opened almost overnight, leaf buds unfurled on the deciduous trees and the glen resonated with the sound of lawnmowers trying to tame the rampant grass.  It was wonderful weather for walking.

Friday  It should have been just a regular Whitebridge and Poyll Dooey walk . . . but it wasn’t.  It was special because we heard the distinctive call of a cuckoo as we passed Milntown.  It was the first time I had definitely heard a cuckoo on the Island.  Years ago, I thought I heard one further up the glen but I wasn’t positive.  But this time Tim heard it too - and we checked the call on the Internet.  It was definitely a cuckoo . . .  unless someone was playing a recording of a cuckoo very loudly in the Milntown grounds.

There wasn’t much to photograph at Poyll Dooey apart from new leaves and the last of the dazzling white froth of blackthorn flowers near the entrance to the park.

Saturday  A rainy day.  A friend sent me a photograph taken through her bedroom window so I sent this in return . . . our wet patio and the first blossom starting to open on the flowering cherries.

Sunday was brighter and we walked down to Poyll Dooey again.  We listened for the cuckoo but it had departed, probably in search of a mate further afield.  The only sound of spring was the roar of motorbikes speeding along  Lezayre Road.

I continued my examination of the new leaves on the trees in the park  - trying to identify them.  A row of trees that we had not noticed previously had interesting coppery leaves which looked poplar-shaped.  When we got home I found some very similar photos on the internet and decided that they must be black poplars (populus nigra) - a native tree that grows well near water.  According to the Woodland Trust black poplar is the most endangered native timber tree in Britain

When we got home I photographed the first pink clematis flower and the last of the daffodils.  The cherry blossom was opening fast and we decided that our next walk should be up to the service reservoir again to see whether we could get a good view down on the cherry trees in the glen.

Monday was a lovely warm spring day - perfect for our first “sunhat walk” of the year.  The view of the cherry trees from the top fields was disappointing as most of them were hidden behind houses, or larger trees.  I took a photo of more or less the same scene of our part of the glen as photo in last week’s post.  It is interesting to compare the two, to see how much has changed in just six days.

3rd May

9th May

We walked past a small plantation of conifers to check the view from the hillside above Fern Glen.  This is closer to the position from which the old photo in last week’s post was taken.  I think the photographer must have set up his camera where the conifers (behind the gorse on the left hand side of the next photo) have been planted.

On our way down the rough track Tim saw our first butterfly of the year in the glen. . . . a speckled wood.  

We haven’t seen any butterflies  in the garden yet although our neighbour saw an unidentified white butterfly fluttering past her kitchen door a few days ago.

After being frustrated in my efforts to photograph the cherries from the opposite side of the glen, I decided to take some photos in the garden.  The blossom is really good this year because we have been enjoying still dry weather - ideal for the delicate flowers.

Tuesday and another walk down to the Whitebridge and Poyll Dooey.  While I was waiting for Tim, I took a photo of some clematis flowers by the front steps.

When we reached the Sulby, the tide was high and just about to turn.  

We couldn’t work out whether it was just before or just after peak tide because some gorse flowers, floating on the surface, seemed to be heading slowly downstream while others were going in the opposite direction - possibly being blown by the gentle breeze.  Then I saw a mallard family near the reeds by the Whitebridge.  

They were too far away to get a good photograph so I took off at top speed to get a closer view but my efforts were thwarted when a shrill party of schoolchildren approached the bridge from the far side of the river and the ducks beat a hasty retreat downstream.  We retraced our steps and I got some more photos.  They weren’t as sharp as I hoped.  I had no idea that baby ducks could swim so fast.

On the way home we caught up with the “duck scarers” - resplendent in their high-vis waistcoats.

On Wednesday we did our top of the glen road walk.  I took my camera although I didn’t expect to see anything interesting.  Cuckoo flowers got their common name because they are supposed to flower when the cuckoos are calling.  The ones in our garden haven’t opened yet but there was a good patch at the side of the river up in Fern Glen which have nearly finished flowering.  It is a confusing spring.

When we crossed  the bridge over the Auldyn River on our way home,  I noticed a male mallard in the water.  While I was watching him I realised that he was watching a female and that she was being followed by some tiny balls of fluff.  She stopped to have a drink.

The little party made their way up towards the bridge.  The river wasn’t running very fast but the babies  had to battle against the current and preferred to climb over the stones whenever possible.

When they reached the calmer water below the weir they swam after their mother.  I couldn’t get more than seven babies in the photo but there were nine.

In the afternoon I received an email from Dorothy with three glorious photos of bluebells in Ballaglass and the comment that “. . .  Trevor says they are best he has ever seen.”  We decided that we had to see them for ourselves and planned to visit Ballaglass the next day.  My bluebell photos will be in the next post.