A few weeks back, I suggested you listen (and look out) for birds starting to sing. My tip for this weekend is to look out for other signs of spring. With snowdrops poking their heads up and daffodil leaves breaking free of the soil, there's no doubt that spring is very nearly here. Hooray!
If the sun makes an appearance this weekend, you might be surprised to see some insects out and about.
This week I've seen quite a few honeybees, some hoverflies and a big, fuzzy bumblebee making a, er... beeline for early-flowering plants. Berberis seems to be a good one (and the brightly-coloured leaves look beautiful).
I've also heard of some butterflies being seen - brimstones and red admirals. These will be insects which hatched out last year, survived winter (so far!), and have now been tempted out by the mild temperatures... As for how a fragile butterfly finds somewhere safe to hibernate, here's some fascinating reading. These are tough creatures!
What have you seen lately?
The starling's are changing their feathers to the "spring coat", and fighting as usual. I had a little robin & sparrow also today.
J