Diary: March 2004

The return to milder weather over the past few days has seen an increase in activity amongst the garden's wildlife.

Viewed from a distance the surface of the pond during the day now seems to be in an almost constant state of agitation as the frog's courtship rituals build towards their climax. And despite some very wet weather today, I watched a female blackbird engaging very enthusiastically in nest building. She seems to be building in a Leylandii hedge which runs between my garden and that of a neighbour. It remains to be seen whether or not she is doing it high and deep enough to make it inaccessible to the local cats - I didn't want to risk disturbing her today, but I'll take a peak when I get a chance.