February has seemed alternately a prelude to spring and a variation on winter! Some days it's been as cold, windy and flooded as at Christmas; on others you can sense by the teaming bird song and new lightness in the air that warmer days are on the way.
Looking on the bright side, the muddy paths left by our most recent inundation offer a great opportunity for spotting wildlife tracks. Try untangling the footprints of deer, rabbits, dogs, horses and a wide variety of birds. Snowdrops are also appearing along the riverside paths and blackthorn is beginning to flower - signs of the natural world waking up.
On the way to work in the mornings I've started seeing birds flying with beakfuls of nesting material, clearly starting to plan their homes for the spring. School half-term last week coincided with National Nestbox Week so we ran several family events in local garden centres, building and decorating homes for garden birds like blue tits and house sparrows.
With luck these will shelter many broods of fluffy chicks in the coming months. It’s an important helping hand for our local wildlife; fewer old trees and other natural nooks and crannies means a shortage of good nest sites for some birds.
Inspired by these beautiful examples, painted by our Wildlife Explorers club? It's not too late to put up your own!
If you like a bit of DIY, you can find instructions on making a box here. Alternatively safeguard your fingers and have a look at the great range available from the RSPB Shop.
Once you're ready, you can find the simple advice you need on where best to place your box here.
Finally, sit back with a nice cup of tea, admire your work from the window and keep your fingers crossed for a fine brood of chicks this spring. (And on behalf of your garden birds, thank you.)
Alison Nimmo
RSPB Community Engagement Officer, Orkney