What to look for in Railway Fields in March: Primroses in the meadow and chiffchaffs calling

Prima Rosa, although not actually a member of the rose family is definitely one of the first flowers we see in the meadow. Did you know that April 19th is known as Primrose Day because this is anniversary of the death of Benjamin Disraeli whose favourite flower was the primrose? Queen Victoria regularly sent him bunches and primroses are laid at his statue by Westminster Abbey every year on this date.

If you listen to the birds singing in Railway Fields, one two-note sound may stand out. A little brown bird is calling "chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff" over and over. This is one of the first heralds of Spring and one that always raises a smile. Chiffchaffs are migrants, although there is evidence that some are choosing to overwinter in the UK because of the warmer, wetter winters of recent years. They are doing well, with over 2 million pairs estimated to be nesting in the British Isles. Increasingly, we are hearing them in our cities as they abandon the countryside and choosing the leafy habitats of gardens and urban green spaces. Urban green spaces like Railway Fields.