I met volunteers Graham Gamage, Julie Straw and John Ellis at 06.15 last Sunday morning. However, considering that the clocks had gone forward by an hour that very morning, it definitely still felt like 05.15.
We met to carry out the second leg of the annual water rail survey, which requires starting at the crack of dawn.
As well as the water rails heard uttering their 'charming' songs, we also heard the songs of cetti's warbler, chiff chaff and our first willow warbler of the year (all of these were singing along the public footpath along the eastern boundary).
Whilst carrying out the survey, John predicted that we would have avocet on site some time this week and he was right (which just goes to show John's intimate knowledge of the site).
As Michael and I were looking over Phase 1 yesterday afternoon, a single avocet flew in from the north-east and dropped onto Silt Lagoon 7. It didn't stay there long, but did relocate on to Silt Lagoon 6.
Shortly before heading back to office we saw the archetypal harbinger of spring too; a single swallow, seen zipping across Silt Lagoon 5.
Oh, and that's the last time I use 'signs of spring' in my blog titles (for this year anyway).