Here comes the Green

On Monday morning three little sparks of green arrived at the feeders. Siskins are moving through after spending the winter months down at sea level in damp woodlands, flocking with Redpolls and Goldfinch.

The regular seedeaters - the Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Reed Bunting are still busily bouncing across the garden to feed, and then returning to the hedge, where they chatter and buzz while the Tits, Wrens, Dunnocks and Robins stake their own claims for the coming season. Half a dozen Woodpigeons have taken to gathering by the pond for a communal bathe before waddling across to pick over the spillage left by the messy finches. They've grown so fat that they struggle to take flight when disturbed. In the denser shrubbery, Blackbirds squawk noisily, and on hte roof, the Jackdaws are gathering wood for their chimney.

The Cherry tree is a blizzard of white blossom and the first Hawthorn leaves are beginning to emerge.