1. Wood anemones

April is a fantastic month for spring flowers, like Wood anemones! Wood anemones flower in early Spring before the canopy blocks the sun light reaching the forest floor. Their seeds are usually infertile so they tend to spread through their roots instead, which is a much slower process, meaning it can take 100 years for wood anemones to spread 6ft! This means they’re a great indicator species of ancient woodlands. Look out for a sea of white stars in ancient woods, like Pengelli Forest, Coed Garnllwyd and Castle Woods.

2. Fulmars

If you head to the coast this month, or are lucky enough to visit Skomer or Skokholm Island, you may spot pairs of fulmars on the sea cliffs. In April, they’ll be busy re-establishing their pair bonds and spring cleaning their nest ledges ready for the breeding season.

3. Early bumblebees

Look out for our smallest bumblebee species this month. Queen bees, who are larger than worker bees, emerge first to look for a the perfect nesting place, like a old small mammal nest, hole in a tree or bird box. Keep an eye out for their distinctive orange-tails and lemon-yellow bands on its body.

Find out how to make your garden more attractive to Early bumblebees and other insects here. 

4. Bats

Look out for bats hunting at dawn and dusk. As bats emerge from hibernation, they’ll be especially hungry. We have 15 resident species of bats in Wales, who live in variety of different habitats. Keep an eye out in woodland, farmland, grassland and urban areas for bats catching insects on the wing.

5. Bloody-nosed beetles

Keep an eye out for Bloody-nosed beetles as they emerge from the soil where they’ve been over winter this month. These fascinating beetles are named after their ability to produce an unpleasant blood-red liquid from their jaw if threatened. As one of our largest and also flightless beetles they are easy to spot as they move quite slowly. Look out for them on paths, grassland, heathland and along hedgerows.

Go beetle spotting at our one of our nature reserves. Find your local reserve here.