Episode 2.71 - Aphid Aerial Plankton and Blossoming Hawthorns

Send us Fan MailOn a chilly, grey early-May morning with a brisk northerly wind and five weeks of drought at High Ash Farm, Chris Skinner and Matthew Gudgin explore the effects of the dry spell. Skylarks hover and sing over parched grass fields, while swallows sweep low hunting for insects. In Fox’s Grove, they examine sycamore leaves glistening with honeydew from vast colonies of green aphids — prolific breeders that provide vital “aerial plankton” for summer migrants. Chris then admires one of the farm’s magnificent old hawthorns (May) in full luminous blossom beside an ancient quarry. He shares its long history as a hedging plant, its sharp spines, distinctive scent, pollination needs, and clever seed dispersal by birds. Listener letters bring warmth from across the UK and beyond: a magical close encounter with a female hare searching for leverets, phacelia identification, first swifts and house martins, lapwings, goldcrests, glyphosate questions, and more. This episode captures the resilient beauty of a dry early summer — from skylarks and aphids to shimmering May blossom — ideal for appreciating nature’s ingenuity even when the weather refuses to cooperate.https://www.buzzsprout.com/2432378/episodes/19151554-episode-2-71-aphid-aerial-plankton-and-blossoming-hawthorns.mp3?download=trueSupport the showPlease email any questions for Chris to answer on the podcast [email protected] podcast is brought to you by High Ash Farm. To support our efforts in creating this content, please consider making a small monthly or one-off donation. Your contributions help us with production costs, and after expenses, every penny goes towards conservation and maintaining free public access at High Ash Farm. Support us here:https://donorbox.org/podcast-12or from the Podcast page here:Podcast | High Ash Farm