Birdsong kicking off

On a wonderful warm early Spring day the common was alive with birdsong, already well under way. Great tits, robins, song thrush and skylark were in fine voice. It took a little tracking down, but I found a blackbird skulking in a bush murmuring away to itself; perhaps getting itself in tune before giving it the full welly.

The were several dunnocks singing in the bright sunshine, and I managed to get some shots of one, the best of which is here.

Enjoying the warmth of the sun I took a seat on the Chadwick bench, and after a while I realised I could hear a reed bunting; this struck me as rather early. Looking across the reedbed I spotted the bird right away, typically perched at the top of a reed, gently swaying in the breeze. It was a long way off and difficult to get a good steady shot of it, but the picture does at least show it really was a reed bunting.

A little further on my walk, no longer on the common but near enough, I found this cluster of ladybirds warming themselves.

All in all, a lovely morning.