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The blossom is out! Blossom, like this one of the Cherry plum heralds Spring for many people. On a warm day these blooms are alive with buzzing, as early bees get busy. Cherry plum is a naturalised species and although not a native fruit tree, it is spectacular on a warm March day to encounter. The white flowers against the blue sky and black flecks of bees moving from one flower to another is mesmerising. The Cherry plum is one of the first Prunus species to flower and later

These attractively-marked birds can be seen in the fields around Otley, but are actually native to southern Europe – hence the alternative name French Partridge. They were brought over as a gamebird in the 18th century. Chunky and rotund, they tend to run away when disturbed, rather than fly. Red-legged Partridges eat seeds and roots, and the young will eat insects to top up their protein. They can raise two broods of chicks simultaneously – the male incubating the second in

We tend to think of fungus as an autumnal sight, but the fruit body of this rare variety bursts out of the ground in the spring. As the name suggests, it is usually found below cedar trees, though occasionally below yew. The one in the photo was spotted in an Otley churchyard. Spherical below the surface, the fungus forms a brittle cup above, becoming more crown-like as it matures and the rays separate. Blow on the creamy inside surface and you may see almost smoke-like spore

Despite the cold chill still in the air, signs of spring have started to appear; snowdrops, daffodils and crocuses are all blooming. The change of the light, longer days and relatively warmer days trigger our resident birds to get dressed up! To be as attractive as possible in time for mating season, Blue tits as well as everyone else are as bright as they are ever going to be, sporting their new plumage. It is time to take a closer look at the colourful mix of blue, yellow,

When the sun is shining, this lichen catches the light and looks like it is shining too, thanks to its upper surface being a brilliant shade of yellow or orange. Most lichens are intolerant of high pollution levels, this beauty is an exception. This lichen is often associated with high levels of nitrogen and so can commonly be found close to farmland and livestock. It is also something of a globetrotter, being found throughout Britain and most of Europe, in North America, Afr

One of the first trees to blossom each year, the Blackthorn does so before it even has any leaves, and this is one of the ways to distinguish it from the not dissimilar Hawthorn. The early flowers are a boon for bees. At the other end of the year, the Blackthorn produces big blue-black sloes, whilst the Hawthorn has the smaller red berries. Sloes, of course, can be used in the production of gin – try some from Sloemotion, partners in our gin event and a business that have sus

Also known as the pussy willow, the male catkins of the goat willow look like a cat’s paws and are extremely soft to the touch. It is these catkins that are on show right now, one of the best places to catch sight of them in Otley is along the river but can be found growing in woodland, hedgerows and scrub, it especially likes damp open ground. Goat willows are extremely valuable to wildlife, their foliage is eaten by the caterpillars of a number of moths and is also the main

Another in our occasional series on the supposed “bad guys” of Nature, Feral Pigeons have an interesting lineage. Originally Rock Doves all lived on cliffs and mountains, but then thousands of years ago some of them were domesticated for food (and later sport and messaging) – Mesopotamian tablets and Egyptian hieroglyphics reference this. Subsequently, some escaped back to the wild, and their large numbers are testimony to their success at adapting to urban habitats, swapping

A lot of our resident birds are busy getting an early start and building their nests already. Perhaps the most visible because of the size of the bird and distinctiveness of the messy nest are crows, it helps that the trees are still bare, so catching site of a crow with a beak full of twigs patching up last years nest is fairly easy. A Carrion Crow's nest is usually built in the fork of a tree, but can be spotted on electricity pylons and other weird places. It is made by bo

Coppiced since mediaeval times, people have found all sorts of uses for this member of the birch family, including charcoal, clogs and gunpowder, and someone once told me that Venice is built on Alder. This makes sense in that these trees are often found close to water, as on the banks of the Wharfe, and rather than rotting when wet the timber actually gets stronger. Alder roots help prevent riverbank erosion, and also make an ideal spot for an otter holt. Their location can

Another early riser and brilliantly busy bumblebee (try saying that over and over as quick as you can), the tree bumble was first recorded in the UK as recent as 2001! They are such a part of our insect scene now, especially at this early point in the season it's hard to imagine being without them. Tree bumblebees are notorious for claiming bird nest boxes, they have even been known to evict blue tits from particularly desirable nest boxes in order to take them over. By River

Not Crested and definitely Little, this modest grebe is still good to see down at Gallows Hill and other ponds and lakes around Otley. Even better would be to hear its breeding call, which has been likened to a horse whinnying. Like its fancy Great Crested cousins, the Little Grebe is great at swimming and diving, but not so good at walking, due to its legs being set far back (to aid water movement). It also excels at hiding in vegetation at the water’s edge, and when leaving

Another important source of early nectar for our sleepy pollinators are these fabulous yellow stars appearing along damp woodland paths and tracks, as well as stream banks and ditches. Their usefulness doesn’t end with insects, in the past leaves were used to prevent scurvy, thanks to their high vitamin C content. It has another common name, "pilewort” because it has also been used to treat haemorrhoids. This was based not on science but on the fact the the knobbly tubers wer

It’s a great time of year for bee watching! As there are so few flowers out, staking out a sunny patch with a few blooms will guarantee you some brilliant bees! That’s exactly what I did and one of the biggest visitors to my sunny patch was this lemon yellow striped bumble. Like other social insects, the queen emerges from hibernation early in the spring and starts the colony over again by laying a few eggs that hatch as workers; these workers tend the young and nest. Compare

“Great” is right – the head and neck feathers look positively extravagant, so much so that the bird was almost hunted to extinction in the UK in the 19th century, when the feathers adorned women’s hats and even underwear. The young birds look striking, too, if rather mis-matched with their black and white stripes, and you’d have to be quite the cynic to not enjoy the sight of them hitching a ride on their parents’ backs. However one of the best sights in UK ornithology is the

Vibrant pops of colour are appearing all over Otley, they are joyful to see on the grey days before spring. Whilst not being a native plant, with such a massive loss of our own native wildflowers, they provide much needed source of nectar and pollen for pollinating insects just emerging from hibernation. Crocuses come in a wide and appealing range of colours, from a distinctive mauve to pale yellow or white, all of them enjoy a sunny position and well drained soil. So enjoy t

One of the absolute joys of early spring is catching sight of a fluttering, lemon yellow butterfly. Amazingly the word ‘butter-fly’ is thought to have derived from "butter-coloured fly,” because of the yellowness of the male brimstone butterfly's wings! The brimstone is a long lived butterfly, they live for up to a year after hatching into their adult form. After sleeping through the winter, the adults wake up and travel to find a mate, that’s why now is such a great time to