Nature Notes: April/May 2026

THE BIRDS AND THE BEES!

Highlights of April: apple blossom; seeing a pure white fallow deer on Easter morning (often symbolic of Christ's presence in nature); the return of nightingales and chiff-chaffs; a lizard popping up into the sunshine through some fallen hay; bluebells and blossom; male orange tip butterflies and forget-me-nots; a creatively woven woollen nest in my shed of varying hues; a plethora of shield bugs all mating on the same day; tawny mining bees 'volcano' burrows in the lawn; early purple orchids; speedwell; white dead knettles; Lords and Ladies leaping high from verges; a joyful 'singing hedge' in the village with blackbirds and thrushes feeding their chicks; numerous shades of lush green vegetation gleaming after the rain.

Lowlights: less swallows; not being able to help a blind, bunny (kit) in an open path of warm sunshine beneath a circling buzzard; finding both a dead male and a female chaffinch just a few feet from each other with no obvious signs of death.

Key messages & what you can do to help:

1) Latest research suggests that intensive farming practices, particularly an increase in pesticides and fertiliser is the main driver of our drastic UK bird population decline. But weedkiller in your own garden can also kill birds, insects, pets, bees and entire hives up to 3 miles away (and there are links to Cancer and Parkinsons). Why not mix up a gallon of white vinegar, I cup of salt and a tablespoon of washing up liquid instead?

2) The RSPB are advising people not to feed garden birds seeds and peanuts from 1st May -31st October 2026 to avoid the spread of trichomonosis (a parasitic disease). As many birds raising their young are still relying on high-energy supplementary food, you can still put out fat balls and small amounts of mealworm but ensure you clean all bird feeders weekly.

3) 9.5million pet cats in Britain kill approximately 55million birds every year (according to David Attenboroughs new 'Secret Garden' series). He's asking all cat owners to put bells on them which "reduces pet cats' hunting success by a third".

What to enjoy around our village in West Sussex in May:

The dawn chorus, fledglings, slow-worms, hawkmoths, the snuffles and grunts of mating hedgehogs, leaf-cutter bees busy nest-lining, more migratory birds, yellow archangels, buttercups and cow parsley, the birth of roe deer kids, a full 'Flower' moon on 1st and Blue moon on 31st May.

As the world becomes more troubled and frightening, I pray you may lose yourselves in the wonders, hope and reassurance of your own patch of wild nature and be encouraged to protect and nurture it, so that all creation here may thrive.