Springtime in Bowland

After the long winter months of almost suspended animation, Spring is quite possibly the busiest of all the seasons in Bowland. 

bluebells in the wood

Hints and harbingers of spring can arrive surprisingly early, but speak to the locals, and as far as they are concerned, winter isn’t officially over until the middle of May.

Spring’s tender shoots spread slowly over Bowland, beginning in the valleys and slowly spreading up onto the plateau as the buds begin to burst forth in the more sheltered glens.

On the farms, lambing starts early – although the first ewes to lambs are usually brought down odd from the higher pastures to give birth in the traditional stone outbarns or lambing sheds which are such a recognisable feature of the Bowland landscape.

For an insight into the rigours of lambing time and the chance to cuddle a new-born lamb, Cobble Hey Farm on the western flank of the Forest above Garstang welcomes guests to help feed the lambs each spring from February onwards. Check the website (www.cobblehey.com) for times.

Before the lambs are let loose to gambol among the fresh new grass in the pastures, the hares briefly have the fields to themselves and in March, these charismatic creatures can be seen chasing each other around the meadows, often culminating in a bout of boxing as the feisty females rebuff the advances of overly amorous males.

Brown Hares
Brown Hares

In the skies above, the skylarks are active from February onwards and by the end of the shortest month, the bubbling ululation of curlews returning from the coast will echo across the valley floors. Oystercatchers and lapwings arrive back from the coast around the same time, filling the fields with a chorus of cascading calls that testify to the imminent arrival of spring.

By mid-March, the leafless blackthorn hedges burst into bloom almost overnight, gilding the field boundaries with a frothy milk-white blossom suffusing the warming spring air with a musky fragrance.

In the sandy banks of the Hodder and the Ribble, the first sand martins return from Africa to re-colonise the burrows where they nested the previous summer. Swallows and swifts won’t be far behind and each spring, a handful of lucky birders savour a close encounter with a squadron of dotterel during their brief overnight rest stop on Pendle. 

This pretty little wader seems to use Pendle as a key waypoint en route for their summer breading grounds up on Scotland’s Cairngorm plateau and their confiding nature allows observers to get up close and personal and take some stunning photos. 

Male Ring Ouzel
Male Ring Ouzel

Now the stage is set for two of Bowland’s most iconic species to take a bow. In the more remote valleys, ring ouzels can be heard calling among the fresh leaf-growth as they prepare to nest and raise a couple of broods prior to returning to Northern Africa to overwinter.

These scarce migrants are in decline in Britain owing to loss of habitat and Bowland is one of the best places to spot them outside their summer stronghold of the Cairngorms.

Female Hen Harrier
Female Hen Harrier

The Forest of Bowland is the English stronghold of an even scarcer migrant whose numbers have recently plunged to critical levels: the hen harrier. This iconic raptor is the symbol of the Forest of Bowland, but three years ago, it was in danger of extinction in the region – largely due to illegal persecution associated with management of the area’s grouse moors.

After a couple of years when Bowland harriers failed to raise a single chick, nesting success is on the increase again, but this beautiful bird remains on the endangered list. 

As spring reaches its peak, in the woodlands, after the mauve drifts of bluebells have died back, the warm, acrid aroma of wild garlic rises from the forest floor, heralding the transition to full summer.

WHERE TO WATCH WILDLIFE

Pied Flycactcher
Pied Flycactcher
  • See boxing hares in the large meadows around Waddow Hall between Clitheroe and Waddington
  • Spot ring ouzels in the wooden lower reaches of the Langden Valley near Dunsop Bridge
  • Look out for bold pied flycatchers flitting through deciduous woodlands just before leaf burst
  • Find bluebells in the beautiful woodlands at Calder Vale and Oakenclough in the upper Wyre Valley
  • Listen out for cuckoos in the more remote Bowland valleys or the plantations on Grindleton Fell and snipe ‘drumming’ in the fields on top of Hall Hill above Whitewell

DON’T MISS: 

In late April and early May, look out for males and female hen harriers ‘sky dancing’ – elaborate aerial courtship display’s prior to mating.

Posted
3rd March 2025
in News