The sun is shining, birds are singing, could spring finally be here to stay?!
I've just ventured up into Chafey's Lake to check on the state of the paths (still boggy) and seen my first Brimstone butterfly of the year! Only yesterday I was lamenting not having seen one yet. Brimstones are usually one of the first butterflies to appear in spring and in previous years I have seen them at Radipole in late February.
(not my photo, I'm afraid the Knapweed's not flowering quite yet)
I also heard my first Blackcap of the year today. I know they overwinter in these southern parts but coming from North Norfolk I still think of them as being a spring treat.
Another exciting sign of spring has been finding frogspawn at both Radipole and Lodmoor in the last couple of weeks. Again this is something that has been delayed this year by the cold weather as we would normally expect frogspawn to appear in early March. Looking at and learning about frogspawn seems to be a ubiquitous part of childhood and it would be easy to take its appearance for granted, but with the advance of the unpleasant Chytrid fungus that is threatening amphibians worldwide I think we should cherish every jelly-like blob we find!