It has been an unusual May, with a real mix of weather, as the flood water receded and the reserves started to return to the splashy wet grassland typical of this time of year. The high rainfall gave the vegetation either a lush lime green appearance or the flooded brown look which will take a while to recover. The grazing animals returned to the marshes as soon as the conditions allowed, so as not to cause poaching but also to prevent the grass from getting away with growth stimulated by the warm sunshine that followed. The blossoming hedgerows have appreciated all the moisture but the young birds, butterflies and dragonflies it will probably result in mixed fortune. Our breeding waders somehow managed to pit their wits against the rising water and we only lost 4 lapwing nests of which 2 relayed almost immediately. The spring migrants are still in full song and the atypical conditions brought with them a flurry of unusual birds, including black winged stilt, glossy ibis and spoonbill, all a treat to see.
Photo by Colin Scott