OPEN-AIR DIARY 



MAY 



DATE 



1 May garlands of hawthorn, cowslip, bluebell, 



purple orchis, primrose, stitchwort, cuckoo 

 flower, marigold. Hops make their first 

 circle round poles. Ring-ousel singing. 

 Yellow-hammer's eggs. Red-backed shrike 

 appears. Small heath butterflies appear. 



2 Noctule bats begin to fly. Willow wren's 



eggs. Orange-tip butterflies first seen. 

 Scorpion grass, charlock, common scurvy 

 grass flowers. Coltsfoot down abounds 

 for the linnet's nest. 



3 Bullfinch lays. Whinchat builds. Dotterels 



arrive. Maple flowers. Flowers of field 

 pepperwort, heartsease, bog stitchwort, 

 thyme-leaved speedwell, common speedwell, 

 reed manna grass. 



4 Lesser whitethroat builds. Greenfinch lays. 



Cirl bunting's eggs. Walnut leaves. Young 

 stoats born. Flowers of greater celandine, 

 common fumitory, sea purslane, fritillary. 



5 Swifts arrive. Reed-bunting lays. Sedge 



warbler sings. Linnets lay. Pale tussock 

 moth. Flowers of ramping fumitory, water- 

 cress, common winter cress, starry tower 

 mustard, chalk milkwort, mud water star- 

 wort, small marsh valerian, great wood rush. 



6 Linnets come in bands to the dandelion seeds. 



Flycatcher arrives. Kestrel's eggs. Young 

 wild ducks. Marshes Whimbrel and 

 summer snipe here for a day or two. 

 Yellow wagtails, snipe, redshanks, black- 

 headed gulls, pewits, coots, moorhens and 

 reed buntings, with eggs. Ribwort plantain 

 flowers. 



7 Blue titmice lay. Cuckoo's egg. Horse- 



chestnut flowers. Flowers of sweet gale 

 and beech. Wood tiger moth. 



8 Blackcaps' eggs. Treecreepers' eggs. Quail 



arrives. Flowers of barren strawberry, tor- 

 mentil, lady's mantle, white beam, mossy 

 saxifrage, marsh pennywort, corn gromwell 



9 Rock pipits build. Red -backed shrikes build. 



Ringed plovers' eggs. Flowers of mountain 

 ash, crabtree. 



10 Sedge-warblers and whinchats laying. Spar- 



row hawks' eggs. Dingy skipper butter- 

 flies appear. Flowers of creeping cinquefoil, 

 sweet vernal grass. 



1 1 Dragon-flies seen. Humming-bird hawk moth. 



Corn-bunting builds. Trailing Tormentil 

 flowers. 



12 Young water-shrews. Angle-shades moth. 



Flowers of water avens, mouse-ear hawk- 

 weed, sweet chestnut. 



13 Flowers of herb Robert, goutweed, pig-nut, 



common beaked parsley, crosswort, lily of 

 the valley, rye grass. Whitethroat lays. 



DATE 



14 Bird's foot trefoil, oak, comfrey, silverweed 



flowers. Young dormice. Marsh fritillary 

 butterflies appear. Bullfinch lays. 



15 Young otters abroad. Wren's eggs. Flowers 



of marsh cinquefoil, sweet cicely, eyebright, 

 branched bur-reed, Timothy grass. 



1 6 Flowers of broad-leaved garlic, milkwort, 



raspberry, lamb's lettuce, yellow iris. 

 Young water-voles abroad. 



17 Flowers of barberry, whitebeam, wild service, 



bramble, forget-me-not. Common blue 

 butterflies appear. Young red deer. 



18 Wood sanicle, ragged robin, broom, rest 



harrow, spotted medick, sweet brier flowers. 



19 Swarm of bees. Avens, figwort, cromwell, 



mouse-ear scorpion grass flowers. Swallow- 

 tail butterflies hatched. Common carpet 

 moth. 



20 Young moles born. Knot grass moth. 



Flowers of holly, buckthorn, sycamore, 

 burnet rose, white bryony, greater plantain. 



21 Meadow cranesbill, white campion, harebell, 



goose-grass, tormentil, brooklime. 



22 Young hares. Oak egger moth, purple thorn 



moth. Needle whin, wayfaring tree flowers. 



23 Green hairstreak butterflies appear. Sand- 



piper's eggs. Maple flowers. 



24 Forget-me-not, white bryony, water blinks. 



flowers. 



25 Green-veined white butterflies hatched. 



Forester moth, common heath butterfly. 

 Flowersof wood loosestrife, scarlet pimpernel, 

 bogbean, marsh redrattle, white dead 

 nettle, green-winged meadow orchis. 



26 Pearl-bordered fritillary butterflies appear. 



Red-belted clear-wing moth, clouded wave. 

 Flowers of agrimony, comfrey, great broom 

 rape, red dead nettle, common sorrel flowers. 



27 Wall butterflies appear. Hairy tare, bush 



vetch, narrow-leaved vetch, meadow vetch- 

 ling, bird-cherry, sheep's sorrel flowers. 



28 Young whitethroats. Dotterel's eggs. One 



young red stag still carrying its antlers. 

 Flowers of common Solomon's seal. Duke 

 of Burgundy fritillary butterflies appear. 



29 Flowers of herb bennet, honeysuckle, avens, 



corn gromwell, broad-leaved garlic. Small 

 blue butterflies appear. Corn-bunting's 

 eggs. 



30 Young harvest mice. Small pearl-bordered 



fritillary butterflies appear. Wood melic- 

 grass flowering. First reed-warblers' egg. 



31 May fly. Garden warbler lays. Flowers of 



white bryony, mullein, viper's bugloss, 

 penny cress, wood sage, creeping water 

 scorpion grass, yellow dead nettle, bugle,, 

 crowberry, spider orchis. 



