Hunt the Catkins

After mentioning hazel catkins in my first blog, they were difficult to find on my walk around the wood this morning.  I eventually located some at the top of the wood. Asking myself why they are there and not at the bottom of the wood, the answer is fairly obvious, the top of the wood faces South and has more light, encouraging plants to flower earlier. Together with holly, hazel forms the main under-storey of Roundball Wood and is one of the first trees to flower. Catkins, the flowers of the hazel, are around a long time before the tree starts to come into leaf. Trees such as hazel and alder are dependent on the wind rather than insects for pollination and get a head start in the process of setting seed.. Other plants rely almost entirely on insects and their flowering is much later, coinciding with the emergence of pollenating insects in the Spring.

There was one blackbird and a wren singing in the wood this morning setting territories very early. Other birds are very much in winter mode with finding food being the priority. Groups of coal tits and blue tits were making their way through the trees and much to my surprise there was a group of seven siskins in the alder trees. By far the largest group I have seen in the area.

Siskins are winter visitors which many of us see on our bird tables. In the past few years they have also been summer visitors with several pairs breeding in and around Honiton. The alders in the  wood provide a valuable food source for siskins and other seed eating birds. As well as being early flowering, alders retain their cones until early spring, and it was the seeds in the cones that were attracting the siskins.