General (County) update - 11th April 2011

• Well, we've had incredibly little rain for well over a month now - possibly closer to two - as I alluded to a post or two below - very good for some things (including the general "human mood") but very bad for others...
• Badgers, in particular will not be enjoying this warm, dry month or two. It's about now, that the little cubs will be taking their first steps above ground after the spring purely suckling their mother, in the sett. Badgers really need the ground to be soft and yielding at this time of year - in order to forage successfully for the thousands of worms they need to feed their young. A long, dry, warm period of weather in April (and May if it goes on) is really quite bad news for my striped friends - as they simply cannot get to their worms.
• If you are driving around and you see many badgers dead on the road at this time of the year - that is not surprising really - the badgers are on the move generally about now, and even more so with this dry spring - just to get to food.
• Everything seems a little early  -  even the foliage on trees is a fortnight premature I'd say.
• We're into the apple, cherry and laurel blossom period now.
• Cuckoos are arriving (heard all over the county) as are the common terns and summer warblers.
• I hear this week is going to return to more normal spring-like temperatures (14c instead of 24c) and we may get a little rain.