Spring

From the first daffodils to the last bluebells springtime really is a beautiful and unmistakeable time of year and we all have something that makes it special to us. For me it all really starts with the arrival of the first birds into our garden looking for somewhere to nest. I marvel at the activity of the blue tits as they dash to and fro carrying all sorts of food morsels to their ever growing brood.

This spring we had at least two pairs of competing robins which set up camp and seemed to be unworried by our human activity.

I was also fortunate enough to observe a magpie and his mate build their domed nest in a near neighbour's garden.

We also had a blackbird and his mate scurrying around the garden, and a pair of woodpigeons would parade across the lawn wing in wing.

Far away from our British gardens similar activities are occurring albeit on a grander scale. How tremendous is the courtship ritual of the great crested grebe! The unforgettable boxing match of 'mad march hares'!

Not so flashy but no less important in spring are the amphibians - frogs, toads and newts - who return to their watery abodes to mate and spawn their new life.

It is always nice to welcome back the bumble bees, nature's own eco warriors doing their bit from dawn till dusk pollinating as they go. How would we do without them I ask myself?

Soon after the bumble bees the hoverflies arrived, humming around the garden adding to nature's melody.

Then came the graceful dragonflies, damselflies, and butterflies.

Each year I look forward to the arrival of the swallows, the graceful acrobats of the sky, as well as the house martins and swifts who can be observed skimming over the local farmland picking off the flies, nature's own pesticide.

The sensory deprivation of winter is a thing of the past, and we now have the British summer to look forward to!