Geograph - photograph every grid square

The male catkins are commonly known as Lambs’ Tails and are a sign of coming spring. They began forming in the Autumn, surviving the winter as little hard buds, each holding about one hundred flowers. As the daylight increases, they slowly open out into long, dangly ‘lambs’ tails’, shedding clouds of yellow pollen onto each breath of wind.

To avoid self-fertilisation, each hazel tree waits until its male catkins have died before opening the tiny female flowers, with their bright red styles. These will become the familiar hazelnut if fertilised.