Hi old friends

Last week I went on a route check cycle with volunteers in Dunkeld (route 77) and a wildlife walk with volunteers in East Lothian (route 76). On both we talked about birds and Spring and I realised that the confusion over yellowhammers I talked about in the last blog was about song not migration. Yellowhammers ARE a sign of Spring for me, yes, but - as one of the volunteers reminded me - it’s because they start singing then, not because they are newly arrived here. Of course! Kate Bradbury, the wildlife gardener and author, said on Twitter this week that “Spring is saying hi to friends you haven't seen for a while”. Hello, yellowhammer - I hear you and so I see you again even though you’ve been here all along. I also heard my first chiffchaff of the season on the walk - possibly migrant, possibly resident - and recorded it on iRecord. Now I’m hearing them everywhere. Spring is out there and it’s singing! (Picture: continuing my stitch and share plans!) (Edit: Since this blog, I've been reliably informed by my bird-expert friend that lots of yellowhammers partially migrate then return to their breeding area in Spring, so I wasn't entirely wrong!)