The spring equinox!
The first day of spring, astronomically speaking, though the Met Office prefers the 1st of March, based on a temperature system, but I digress.
We've had some fine spring-like days in the past few weeks, bearing in mind that it is Scotland after all. The songs of Skylarks could be heard occasionally above the noise of the wind. Lapwings have been displaying over the wetland. Out on the loch, Great-crested Grebes have been performing their courtship dance. Pink-footed Geese numbers are beginning to rise in readiness for their return to their breeding grounds in Iceland and Greenland; the most recent WeBS count from Monday the 14th March being 6300.
Small numbers of Pintail and Shoveller have also been present in the middle of the month. A small group of Whooper Swans continued to hang around the lagoon beside the Gilman hide throughout the month.
Today, I even had my first Redshank sighting of the year, with 2 birds present on the Carden flood.