It’s no secret that spring is my favourite time of year. I especially love seeing the beautiful spring-time plants as each species makes it appearance over the coming months. But this year it seems they have all turned up at the same time.

This fact was brought to my attention only the other day as I set off on one of my wildlife wanders across the beautiful Somerset countryside.

As I got out of the car, I noticed a large group of snowdrops growing next to bunches of daffodils in full flower, and just a few yards away there were crocuses next to a small group of primroses.

This is something I have never witnessed before and it reminded me just how much global warming is affecting things.

Ironically, though, it’s not all bad because while on my walk I came across several flying insects including bumblebees and a couple of brimstone butterflies. These insects would normally struggle to find enough food this early in the year, but with the early arrival of all these spring-time plants, they now have an abundance on which to feed.

With such an abundance of well-fed insects, will this mean that some of our garden birds start nesting earlier than usual?

Whatever the case, it certainly made for a very colourful and varied wildlife wander. Seeing so many plants in flower with so many insects feeding on them, it really can be said that this year, it’s an early spring for wildlife.

LB Loxley