Frosty mornings and tetchy birds

Frosty mornings have led on into sunny days with bright blue skies. It might be cold but at least the hard ground is easier to walk on. Everywhere you look the fields are full of molehills and the farmers are out rolling the fields to flatten them as well as muckspreading. The waders are all back in force with the rich song of curlews floating on the air as they display overhead. Flocks of lapwings feed on the fields along with gulls, oystercatchers and starlings who gather in the trees like Christmas decorations chattering away before all taking off at once to resume feeding. The woods are full of birdsong too as the birds seek to establish their territories and truces that held overwinter are disintergrating. Chaffinches engage in amazing aerial battles rising up in the air wings beating furiously. Male blackbirds drag each other across the lawn and robins vie for the highest position to display from, chest out, beak and tail pointing skywards, and if that doesn't work engaging in really vicious battles. Hares are easier to spot now while the grass is still short and a friend was lucky enough to watch a boxing bout, wish I'd been there. Lambing has started in earnest and hopefully the weather will soon get milder for them.

Couldn't resist drawing these two.