Continuing with the theme of Marigolds and May, I was at Hoselaw Loch, which is situated within the foothills of The Cheviots, the other day. Here, though the temperatures were decidedly on the wintry side (only 6oC on the car thermometer), the place was definitely buzzing with the feelings of spring.
The marginal vegetation had begun to sprout a number of new green shoots to replace last years dead ones. From the clumps of Reed Canary-grass on the bank, there were fresh new green shoots appearing, together with the more prehistoric looking single stems of the Water Horsetail that were beginning to appear from out of the water. Then highlighting them all were the occasional clump of bright yellow Marsh Marigold flowers. Compared to Murder Moss the previous day, the Marsh Marigolds here, were considerably further on, with loads more flowers present.
Hoselaw Loch – 02 May 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)
Across the surface of the loch there also swooped the graceful forms of a number of House Martins and Swallows, neither of whom seemed at all bothered by the coolness of the temperatures. For me, these were the first House Martins of the year, which accompanying the sightings of my first Swallows last week is a good start to the summer migrants. Also within the surrounding scrub there were the wonderful rippling warbles from a number of Willow Warblers. Their song is almost like the gentle fall of a series of water droplets, as they cascade over the edge of a full pot, and of course another one for the summer migrants list.
For more information about Hoselaw Loch please follow this link – http://gateway.snh.gov.uk/sitelink/siteinfo.jsp?pa_code=512
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