Spring Twitter

I have never known the birds around my flat to be so lively. Over the last 6 weeks I have heard robins and great tits singing from 3 o'clock in the morning.

Just outside my bedroom window there is an oak tree. This is where a pair of courting crows chose to declare their partnership to the rest of the neighbourhood. Once they had woken me up (around 5am) they would fly away and quietly find their breakfast.

The antics of the smaller birds like blue tits, robins and goldcrests always keep me entertained. When the Goldfinches turn up there is never a dull moment. With that flash of colour, it comes as no surprise that their name in Gaelic translates as 'light of the forest'.

The star of the show put in an appearance earlier this week. I had heard him a week earlier making his rat-a-tatt drumming call. I'd love to find out where this greater spotted woodpecker is nesting but he is secretive and good at hiding.