MAY 2011

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RachelMC
Posts: 460
Joined: Mon May 17, 2010 1:04 pm
Location: Chester

MAY 2011

Post by RachelMC »

Species of the Month - MAY 2011:

Starting from this month, instead of just listing two Species of the Month to look out for, more detailed notes of 'What to Look Out For' will be posted. Please leave your comments, views and sightings!

What to look out for in May
After the warmest April on record, Spring seems to have arrived about 3 weeks early and many species normally seen in early June could be out in May.
In the plant world it is worth looking for Wild Arum (Arum maculatum). In the areas under the trees you won’t need to walk far before you find the heart-shaped leaves of this plant, which is sometimes known as Lords and Ladies. Overhead look out for the developing fruits of the Elms. May and June are the months when the Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis) is in full bloom. It is an attractive flower with pale lilac - or occasionally white - petals. The Cuckooflower is the County Flower of Cheshire where its name is also 'Milkmaid' - a reminder of Cheshire's reputation as a dairy county.

Orange tip (Anthocharis cardamines) butterflies are becoming abundant and other early butterfly species recently seen include Common Blue, Small Copper and Wall Brown. A very scarce resident is the Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages) and a potential migrant to look out for is the Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus).
All of our summer bird migrants will have arrived by the end of the month, The Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) and Wood Warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix) are two species that appear to be in freefall decline in Cheshire but both have distinctive and very easily recognised songs. The Swift (Apus apus) is a summer visitor, breeding across the UK, They never perch on wires like swallows. You might see them careering around rooftops and houses, often low, especially towards dusk.

An abundant mammal is the Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), but despite this, it is severely under-recorded in Cheshire, so send in your records as there will be lots of little bunnies around now as well!

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