| January |
Wintersweet flowers, also known as winter heliotrope.
Whooper and possibly Bewick swans usually seen in the fields south of Ballacain
Straight on the Jurby Road. Goldeneye are seen feeding out to sea at Onchan's
Port Jack, in Castletown Bay and off the Grand Island Hotel, Ramsey. Large
flocks of Golden Plover winter in the Ayres. |
| February |
Lesser celandine is in flower in sheltered sunny places
such as Bradda Glen, Port Erin and along many roadside verges. Song and mistle
thrushes are in full song around the Island. Rooks are becoming active in their
communal rookeries. Ravens are already nesting on many of the Island's rocky
sea cliffs including the Marine Drive Douglas, coastal footpath south of Peel
and along the coastal footpath from Port Erin towards the Sound. |
| March |
Primroses and the delicate flowers of wood sorrel in
many glens. Small tortoiseshell butterflies are usually the first to be seen.
Look for them in the Breagle Glen Reserve. |
| April |
Marsh marigolds bloom at Port Cornaa in Maughold, and
near Ellanbane, Lezayre. Wood anemones in the Island's glens. Ferns beginning
to unfold. The first orange tip butterflies can be seen on a cuckooflower, or
lady's smock. Willow warblers arrive on the Island and breed in the Curraghs
Ballaugh. |
| May |
Sea pinks or thrift, from the Whitebridge over the
Sulby River in Ramsey and at Scarlett and Langness. Spring squill is in flower
in coastal grassland and bluebells flower in the glens. Burnet rose flowers on
the Ayres and bilberries are in leaf on the Island's hills. Swallows and
martins are common in May. |
| June |
Woodcocks in the Ballaugh Curragh. Orchids at Close
Sartfield Nature Reserve. Yellow flag iris in damp meadows. Seabirds in
spectacular concentrations are present at the Chasms and on Peel Hill.
|
| July |
Traditional Manx hay meadows especially at Close
Sartfield, Ballaugh. Seabirds off the Ayres coast - gannets, terns, shearwaters
further offshore or storm petrels if there is a strong onshore wind. Basking
sharks off the west coast. Grey seals off Peel Castle and on Kitterland Rock in
the Sound. |
| August |
Red admiral and painted lady butterflies feeding on
buddleia and hebe shrubs etc. Wetland plants such as purple loosestrife, marsh
woundwort and meadowsweet and in flower in the Ballaugh Curragh. Sea holly in
bloom at Ramsey. Skuas may be seen chasing terns along the Ayres coastline.
|
| September |
Heather and Manx (Western) gorse turn the hills purple
and yellow. Scarlet fuchsia hedges along the country roads. Divers,
particularly red-throated, appear off the coast between the Point of Ayre and
Kirk Michael. |
| October |
Winter thrushes, redwing and fieldfare. Royal fern at
Ballaugh Curragh and Close Sartfield. Fungi in the glens. Seals at the Sound
and below St Catherine's Well on Maughold Head. |
| November |
Hen harriers roosting at Close Sartfield. The Ballaugh
Curragh is believed to support the largest winter roost in Western Europe.
Ducks in their breeding plumage - mallard, wigeon and teal at Langness.
|
| December |
Carpets of mosses and liverworts at Dhoon Glen, Glen
Helen, Tholt-y-Will and Cooildarry Nature Reserve. Mountain hares in white
winter coats seen on the slopes of the north eastern mountain range between
Slieau Lhean and North Barrule above 200m. |
