Buntings

We've had a couple of smart, nearly summer plumage, Reed Buntings coming to seed in the garden recently - but only ever in the early morning gloom, a time of the day that parents of a new baby are increasingly familiar with:

But once the sun was up today, there was no shortage of good light, and spring was in the air. To the north of the village the first Corn Bunting was back on territory. This is a very early return, usually Corn Buntings don't usually appear until early April up here:

The skies held singing Skylarks - convinced that the winter wheat is short turf, which looks perfect for breeding at the moment. What they don't know is that in 8 weeks time it will be too high for them and all the effort they are putting into establishing territories at the moment will be wasted. A few Linnets flicked about and most of the residents were in full song: Song and Mistle Thrushes, Greenfinches and Goldfinches, Robins and Dunnocks. The usual raptor suspects drifted over, they always look better with nice blue backdrops:

61 species for the year.