Sunday was the Vernal (spring) Equinox and as such, marked the end of winter.
Spurred on by having seen two brimstone butterflies on my way in to work this morning and having also seen reports of hirundines being back in the country, I ventured out on site to see what was about.
Alas, there were no hirundines to be found and just the one butterfly, a freshly emerged brimstone, enjoying the afternoon's sun.
However, there were still plenty of signs of spring, including the following:
Singing
· skylark
· meadow pipit
· linnet
· carrion crow (well, it tried its best!)
· goldfinch
· yellowhammer
· song thrush
· wren
Displaying
· oystercatcher
· lapwing
· tufted duck
Paired up
· shelduck
· mallard
· gadwall
Coming into leaf
· hawthorn
· elder
· willow
In flower
· lesser celandine
· coltsfoot
· cowslip
· blackthorn
Stay tuned for more signs of spring coming your way soon!