This can be such a lovely time of the year and one sight we really look forward to is our Japanese Cherry tree bursting into blossom. It is such an ephemeral moment, as it really only looks at its best for about two weeks, but what a period of pure enjoyment it brings us. It also means only one thing – spring has arrived!
By the middle of March Brian in Colestocks was reporting robins, great and blue tits nest building and a dunnock laying eggs, plus plenty of activity around the bird feeders. When driving two neighbours to Feniton to catch the London train we all managed to see the Colestocks Little Owl perched up in the daytime in one of the large trees by the side of the lane, but it hightailed it to the cover of a nearby fir tree when I slowed to get a better view.
Peter and Joyce reported that chiffchaffs had been seen on Epsom Common on 26 March, although they have yet to migrate this far south. I fully expect them in the garden soon.
The downside of having a large garden like ours is that it entails a lot of work, but we do make sure that we manage to take time off and sit down to savour the flowers and the wildlife. After those terrible gales we at last managed to enjoy some sunshine: robins sang a few feet above our heads, a pair of treecreepers turned up, as did a pair of 
nuthatches, but best of all the male blackbirds started to sing. Theirs is such a gorgeous song – so sweet and melodic and yet another harbinger of Springtime. Our Great Spotted Woodpeckers appear to have enlarged last year’s nest hole and cleaned up around the entrance. They still visit the nut feeder several times a 
day and I suspect that they may have already laid eggs. As March turned into April two swallows put in a very brief appearance before heading off northwards and on sunny days orange-tip butterflies hatched out.
In the meantime the bees appear to have settled in well and honey is already being produced. Supers have been added to both hives and also a section rack to the larger one. This is an experiment to see if we can harvest honeycomb this year. With all that oil seed rape around us, this could auger well for a good harvest, so fingers crossed.
