With snowdrops almost over, now, in quick succession, we have lesser celandine, wood anemone, butterbur, primrose, and very soon, dog violets and bluebells.

The first tree blossom - blackthorn and plum - adorns our roadsides, soon to be followed by hawthorn, providing wonderful early pollen. Pollinators, which include all Britain's 270 bee species, beetles, flies and hoverflies, are emerging to gather this early pollen in the spring sunshine. The first of these will be bee-flies and solitary bees.

With our spring plants at ground level, pollinators are easy to observe, so why not get out there and see if you can identify them? If we have a few days of sun you might even spot the first butterflies - brimstone and orange-tip. 

Orange-tip butterfly

You can find a few simple identification sheets to get you started here, information about plants, insects and birds to watch out for here, a guide to identifying pollinators here and in a little more detail, here.

Find plenty of ways to monitor and help wildlife via Springwatch's resources here.