Hello
Since my last notes, the weather has been largely diabolical, so birds and animals have lain low—do you blame them!
However, we have experienced the odd sunny day. On one of these days (2nd February) I noticed snowdrops, helebores and the first crocuses peeping out of the ground. A greater spotted woodpecker on the nuts and a few goldfinches too. Had Spring arrived? No, the next few days were cold, windy and wet!
Margaret and I went on the River Exe Birdwatching boat trip again later in February. The weather was fairly kind, enabling us to see about forty species of wild ducks, waders and wild geese. The bird everyone hopes to see on the exe is the lovely avocet, 
and we weren’t disappointed. There they were—black and white, with blue legs and beaks–and so elegant. The other bird which is so typical of the Exe in Winter is the red breasted merganser. The male is a very attractive duck, with black, white and red plumage, whereas the female is not as boldly coloured, being mainly brown, but they both sport lovely punk hairstyles! We must have seen at least a hundred of them.
In the last few days, the weather has improved, and the garden plants are developing quickly. We have our first daffodil in bloom, and there will soon be more. Today, I noticed the purple flowers on the lungwort 
(pulmonaria). We have a lovely bed of cyclamen in bloom under the apple trees. More birds are coming into the garden, so I do think that Spring is on the way!
