If you are planning a cottage holiday in Wales for the month of April, why not try and spot the following:

Top Row - From Left to Right

1. Common Dog Violet Viola riviniana
There are around 500 species of violet in the world. They are typically found in moist and slightly shaded conditions such as hedgerows. Common Dog Violets may be found in abundance in the hedgerows around Cilybebyll as well as in a few spots at Plas Farm. They are a favourite food plant of many butterlfies.

2. Welsh Mountain Lamb Ovis aries
In the Welsh hills, lambing is often not complete until the end of the month, which means there are still plenty of cute new born lambs to see as you walk around the farm. Hill farmers put their ewes to ram later than in lowland regions as the five-month gestation period is timed to ensure the lambs are born when the weather is warmer. Although temperatures are steadily rising, the grass does not begin to grow until the soil reaches the critical temperature of 6 degrees centigrade. A cold snap in April can mean a shortage of grass. The field in front of the holiday cottages are filled with lambs and their mothers at this time of year.

3. Orange Tip Butterfly Anthocharis cardamines
The orange tip butterfly is a colourful symbol of spring time. It appears late in April and may be spotted about the farm, never far from it's favourite food plant - the cuckoo flower. The butterflies each live for about 18 days. The bright orange tips to the males' forewings (the females lack the orange) are believed to be aposematic, acting as a warning to birds that the butterflies contain toxins derived from the larval foodplants. It is notable that many other butterfly species also have very brightly coloured males, but plain females. One reason for this is that males are far more active, constantly flying in search of mates, and in constant danger of being attacked, so they need to advertise their toxic nature. The beautiful mottled green markings on the underside hindwings are an extremely effective camouflage. The colour is not caused by green pigment, which is rare amongst butterflies, but is an optical illusion caused by a mottling of black and yellow scales. As with many other butterfly species, female Orange-tips must mate within a couple of days of emergence, after which they appear to lose their attraction to the males, so the staggered emergence is nature's way of ensuring that there are plenty of males available when the females emerge. The pair in the picture were mating on a cuckoo flower in the rush pasture on the mountain behind the holiday cottages.

Middle Row - From Left to Right

4. Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe
A wide variety of birds may be seen at Plas Farm due to the varying habitats that exist at the farm. At the top of the farm, grassland turns into open mountain heathland. One of the birds seen here, sometimes resting atop a fence post, is the Wheatear. It spends most of its time on the ground - hopping or running around. It eats insects and nests in rock crevices and rabbit burrows. It it blue-grey above with black wings and white below with an orange flush to the breast. It has a black cheek. In flight it shows a white rump and a black 'T' shape on its tail. It is a summer visitor and passage migrant having spent the winter in central Africa. Its English name has nothing to do with wheat or ears, but is a bowdlerised form of white-arse, which refers to its prominent white rump!

5. April Landscape at Plas Farm
April is when the countryside becomes green as the leaves come out on the trees. Some species are earlier than others. This picture shows Welsh oak (already in leaf) alongside a bare Mountain Ash. There is an old country saying "Ash before oak expect a soak, oak before ash expect a splash." In 2007, the oak came before the ash so we are in for a fine summer!