Page 4 - Wildlife News April 2018
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Nature reserve walks Ykoreeuesrepmrsveoemusrbthneraristvuhinripeg
Shapsrisnpgrung Cowslips
at Hartslock.
Longer days and warmer weather offer ample opportunities to discover the (WENDY TOBITT)
wondrous joys of Mother Nature. Here are a few ideas to set you on your way
THE FAERIE’S FLOWER by Debbie Lewis, Ecology Manager
After a dreary winter most of us look forward to longer days and Cowslips are steeped in folk law and one of our best-known
warming spring sunshine. Among the first heralds of spring are springtime flowers; they even get a mention in several of
the delicate nodding heads of cowslips – a myriad yellow polka Shakespeare’s plays. The nodding, yellow flowers look a little
dots scattered across our grassland nature reserves. like bunches of keys. This no doubt gave rise to the legend that
Saint Peter (whose symbol is a pair of keys), on being told that a
Get up close and breathe in the cowslip’s duplicate key to heaven had been made, let his own keys drop to
soft, fruity scent. (PETER CREED) the ground, and where his keys fell the cowslips grew.
This beautiful flower was once as common as the ubiquitous
buttercup. Yet cowslips suffered a dramatic decline between 1930
and 1980, mostly as a result of increased ploughing and herbicide
use, which caused the loss of the grassland in which it grows.
Thankfully cowslips are showing encouraging signs of recovery.
Many roadside verges now support thousands of the nodding
blooms, thanks in part to the spreading of seed. The next time
you head north on the M40 look out for the carpets of yellow on
the roadside banks.
April and May are the months to get out onto our nature
reserves and spot cowslips pushing up to greet the spring
sunshine. Dancersend in Buckinghamshire, Hartslock in
Oxfordshire and Seven Barrows in Berkshire are some of the
best places to see them. As you take a springtime stroll take a
moment to stop, bend down and admire these faerie flowers
close up. Then take in a deep breath, because cowslips not only
glint like the golden keys of heaven, they also have a secret: their
enchanting fragrance. Take your time and you too might catch the
soft, fruity scent of sun-warmed apricots. Spring is truly here!
4 Wildlife news / April 2018
