Spring on Exmoor

Spring on Exmoor

As the weather begins to warm Exmoor bursts into life.

Look out for ‘mad March hares’ this is actually courting behaviour involving boxing with the unreceptive females fending off passionate males. Hares are much longer-limbed and swifter than rabbits and have characteristic black ear tips. They use their powerful hind legs to escape predators by outrunning their enemies and have been known to reach speeds of 72kph (45mph). Introduced by the Romans, hares have declined due to changes in farming practices but look out for them on farmland and moorland areas on Exmoor.

This is an exciting time of the year when our summer visitors return from the south to breed. They spend summer here and then they, and their new young, return south in autumn. The chiffchaff is one of the earliest migrants to arrive on Exmoor in March so listen for its characteristic call. Swallows, martins and swifts can all be seen soaring in the sky and other migrants to look out for include warblers, flycatchers, whinchats, wheatears, tree pipits, nightjars and the charismatic cuckoo.

Bluebells are a timeless example of the antiquity of our ancient woods. The best time to see them is in late April and May.  They prefer moist, shady and stable conditions so woodlands are ideal but in westerly parts of Britain such as Exmoor they can be found in all sorts of habitats such as hedgerows or bracken slopes. Some estimates suggest the UK has up to half of the world's total bluebell population.

May sees the peak of birdsong as our resident blackbirds, robins, song thrushes, and wrens who sing all year round are joined by an influx of warblers and migrants to give rise to the dawn chorus. It is only ever the male birds which sing (females may call, and make alarm calls, but never sing) and they do it for two main reasons: firstly to establish and defend a territory and secondly to attract a mate.