Nature's Calendar

 On the BBC Springwatch programme at Easter there was a request to look out for five things and record the dates they occur on the Nature's Calendar website, all with a view to finding out if Spring is happening earlier every year. Things like this really  make me focus so I wanted to join in. Along with the five specified items are a host of other events to record. If you're UK based it is valuable data and will continue with data for Autumn too so it's not too late to sign up.

I definitely think Spring is happening that bit earlier here. I've already noted the early return of the swallows and blackcaps to the garden and we've had our first moth trap of the year which produced a couple of moths which are not normally on the wing until mid May. Bluebells are already out and today I spotted garlic mustard and cuckoo flower in the lane at the end of the garden. It may all be down to this wonderful burst of warmth we are enjoying. I love this time of year when things almost seem to grow while you're looking at them and the note taking made me think about the breeding birds that come to Elegug Stacks, on the cliffs outside of Pembroke. I wondered how many of them were already in place so tonight we drove down after dinner to see what was happening.

 Well, this is what is happening. I've seen these cliffs crammed with many more birds than this so perhaps it is early days but the guillemots are out in force and pushing each other on and off ledges in their bids for territory or just enough space to cling on to! The noise was pretty loud and it was a beautiful warm and clear evening so you could hear them long before you could see them.

 Guillemots are birds that stay on the wing all their lives, with the only exception when they stay on land  being during the breeding season and I was surprised to read that they are an amber species. When you see such plentiful numbers it is hard to comprehend their decline over the past thirty years, during our own lifetime.

 It was a gorgeous evening and we walked a couple of miles along the cliff top seeing absolutely no-one else. As the noise of the guillemots receded there was another call I could not identify. I saw a group of four or five birds in the distance which I thought were crows but the call was all wrong. As I got closer I realised it was a small group of choughs, clearly identified by their red beaks and legs. In the hazy light I could not get a clear photo of them but we stood and watched their antics for a while before heading home. They are not a bird you see every day so it was pretty special to get a good look at them.

And then, to top off the evening, as we drove home over the bridge by the millpond to Carew Castle I saw some gorgeous reflections. That millpond was literally still and like glass so I had to pull up and take a look. I hope you're enjoying this Spring as much as I am.Take note of what's happening. Make every day count.