Spring in the Dells

 It's been a beautiful morning and I did a patrol along the river for the Water of Leith Trust. Despite the cold, it really does feel like Spring! 

Lesser Celandines are coming into bloom throughout the Dells, this lovely native flower seems to be spreading in these woods, which is great news because, as well as being so beautiful, it offers an early nectar source for insects.

Few flowered leek is also spreading, but, unlike the Lesser Celandine, it is a highly invasive non-native species that often takes over from Wild Garlic (Ramsons). There are parts of the Dells that are still covered in Wild Garlic, but other areas are losing Wild Garlic as the Few Flowered Leek takes hold. In some areas of Scotland, people are foraging Wild Garlic so much that the plant is disappearing. The good news here is that Few Flowered Leek is just as tasty and so can be foraged in the place of Wild Garlic. So, how do you tell the difference? Well, the photo below shows both plants. The Few Flowered Leek is in front, with the narrow leaves and odd looking flowers, the Wild Garlic is in the background with the broader leaves. 

Another flower that you can find at the moment if you know where to look is the larch flower. It's not strictly speaking a flower, but an early stage of the cone. (If you're interested to see how the 'flower' develops into the cone, why not read this post from a few years ago?) The flowers on my favourite larch tree were looking wonderful this morning, all covered in dew. 

There were lots of birds around today, including a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming, the first Chiffchaffs I've heard this year and a Treecreeper in one of the trees in this photo.