A murmuration over the reedbed

"In like a Lion," says the old proverb about March, and with chilly winds and snow today, there's still something fierce about the winter. But the promise of milder weather is on the horizon, so it may yet go "out like a lamb". So many of our traditional sayings, in both Welsh and English, are built around wildlife's behaviour and the seasons, showing our pre-historic connection with nature.

There are precious few signs of spring on the reserve yet, though the first butterfly - a small tortoiseshell - was seen more than two weeks ago, on 14 February. We've seen a few bumblebees, and there has been a bit of half-hearted display by a couple of lapwings but that's about it. In this corner of Wales, winter holds us in its grip.  Yet each morning, it is lighter earlier, and now the song thrushes are singing regularly from the tops of bushes.

The flock of black-tailed godwits, numbering between 30 and 40, are feeding here, waiting for the time that they can head north towards their Icelandic breeding grounds.  A few ringed plovers and increasing numbers of shelducks are indicators of birds starting to move across the country, while a turnstone last Monday (23rd) was more likely a refugee from the outer estuary during the super high tide.

A couple of great crested grebes are here too, though their plumage has yet to take on its resplendent colourful feathers of the breeding season. Small numbers of goldeneyes, pochards and shovelers can still be seen on the lagoons, but firecrests have not been seen for some weeks now, and are presumed to have left, though a few goldcrests remain.  Choughs have been seen a few times again recently, commuting between their coastal roost and their inland daytime feeding areas.

Three red kites over Glan Conwy on Wednesday (25th) was the highest count for a couple of years, while sparrowhawks have been more regular than usual, likely enticed by the regular murmuration of five to ten thousand starlings that were here at dusk each evening last week. The first sighting of stoats this year came last week, as they start to explore the reserve again, considering the best place to build a den.

Before the month is out, the first chiffchaffs should be singing, the first wheatears migrating along the estuary and the first sand martins looking for insects over the water. They'll have made quite a journey to be here, why don't you too?