It has been a wet yet mild Winter thus far. The trees are bare but with buds in place and waiting for the milder weather of Spring to come. However, in the hedgerows and quiet spots on the farm, the first wild flowers are pushing up and in some cases flowering.

Walking alpacas at this time of the year means searching out for the signs of Spring. On a short walk around part of our alpaca walking trail, I found the following images.

The birds are now singing and starting to think about their breeding strategies. Seeing blue tits chasing each other amongst the hedgerows and almost oblivious to me suggests they are setting up their territories. There is no frog spawn in the ponds but it will be almost any day as our friends near Battle have had their first already – a record for their farm!

So a walk with alpacas can be rewarding from a wildlife perspective even if Winter hasn’t completely loosened its grip…you just have to look a bit harder but are rewarded by some beautiful early wild flowers!