September was the joint warmest on record in the UK, being influenced by high pressure over Europe during the first half of the month. However, the Met Office map shows that most of the heat was in the south; we had just above average temperatures. Although it was dry here until 11th, Rachael Park’s data...
The UK is home to 73 million fewer birds today than it was in 1970, according to research from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) published on the 7th May, International Dawn Chorus Day.
Met Office maps show that, while England had average or above average April rainfall, Merseyside was much drier than usual; it was also on the cool side. Formby had a mere nine days with measurable precipitation and only one properly wet day (10th). As a result, the sand-dune water-table fell by about 12 cm (5 inches). Nevertheless, conditions were nothing like as bad as the spring droughts of recent years.
After a largely insect-free winter, I always look forward to March when things really begin to kick off. On 7th I was pleased to find a Greater Spring Blacklet basking on Ivy in woodland at Freshfield. This was a fairly early record of a widespread spring-flying hoverfly that mimics solitary bees.