The vibrant spring

The benefit of having a very wet winter and early spring is that when the days grow longer and the temperatures rise, the vegetation in our woodlands bursts into life with a vengeance. This is illustrated perfectly with a walk through Three Cornered Copse.

In May and June, the copse is at its best, and with the wet soil from the rain this year the growth is spectacular. The cow parsley is shoulder high and fills the air with its buttery scent, the wild flowers blossom and fade, and the tree branches become laden with buds and leaves. The bluebells have come and gone, but were particularly plentiful this year (both Spanish and native varicties).

The birdsong is deafening at the right time of day. One of our twitcher members has noted wrens, chiff-chaff, blackcaps, blackbirds, thrushes and great tits. Is it a coincidence that there has been no tree felling by the Ash Dieback team this year? Who knows, but the ash stumps left by the felling are sprouting high this year, some 15 feet high. an expression of resilience to the culling over the past few years.

Our planting of native shrubs and trees, of several years ago. is starting to flourish, particularly at the north edge of the copse, providing a shield, a barrier from the traffic, and hosting the moths and insects that are interesting to the bird life. It's very gratifying for the volunteer groups who have helped with this.

The planted shrubs after the Ash Dieback project are having a chequered existence. The ones away from the paths are doing very well and remain sheltered with their collars and stakes. Inevitably, the traffic through the copse these days (dogs, cyclists, running events) tends to catch and damage the young shrubs, but many will survive and thrive.

But the Woodland Drive twitten remains closed. It's now seven months since the council found that it was unsafe, and closed it. At the time of writing there seems no sign of any activity to repair and re-open. Filled with old fencing and tree branches, it remains an unsightly blot on the pathway through our copse.

Despite that, it's well worth a wander through Hove's largest woodland to sample the spring sights in this special year.

We are in the process of scheduling a summer work day in late June: refer to our website www.threecorneredcopse.org.uk for details.

Simon Baxendale