Every day is getting greener.

No photos this time, have not had the chance to do any, but more of an observation. You will know that I have Belmont woods on my doorstep and that I walk the dog in them often twice a day.

In the last fortnight there has been a dramatic increase in the activity in the wood. The most noticeable change is the buds opening on the trees and bushes. It really is a different wood compared to a fortnight ago. The next thing that hits you is the noise, the cacophony of bird noise is breath taking. There has been a massive increase in the variety of birds in the wood too. I have seen all of the following in the wood.

Buzzard, Woodpigeon, Crow, Magpie, Jay, Blackbird, Song thrush, Mistle thrush, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Pheasant, Robin, Wren, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Great tit, Blue tit, Long tailed tit, Nuthatch, Dunnock, Coal tit, Treecreeper, and Mallard duck.

I am watching a thrushes nest, the female is sitting at the moment, I have seen wrens collecting moss off the bottom of a beech tree, and I am pretty sure a pair of Buzzards are going to nest in the wood. I see the two of them on a daily basis. The Jays are particularly vocal at the moment, as are the Chiffchaffs. I have counted 7 different males in different areas of the wood.

In february it took me about 30-45 mins to complete the walk, now it's 60-90 mins, purely because I am spending increasing amounts of time watching the birds and just listening to them. I know I'm a bit of a gobshite, but when I'm on my own It amazes me how much fun I get from the simplest of things, I stood for over ten minutes at the weekend watching a Coal tit at one of the old nest boxes that have been erected in the past. It was in and out of the opening and flitting around the box, I dont think it was looking to nest in the box but it may well have been hunting insects. My dog kept looking at me as if to say " come on pops, what you up to?"

Non of this will come as a surprise to any of you, I'm sure you are all out and about in you local areas, discovering your own amazing things. Isn't it great that in a country where everything has increased in price recently the best things can often be those that are free.