In Happier News: Spring!

 The colony off Edgeley Road is really getting going.

 Mystery bird - probably a lesser redpoll but possibly a linnet?

 Blackcap (male)

 Bramblings

 Otter spraint under the bridge at Quoisley

Frogs spawning in our pond.

This last six weeks we have had three new species of bird in the garden (see above); this is on top of the usual greenfinches, goldfinches, siskins, blue tits, great tits and coal tits, nuthatches,starlings, blackbirds, song thrushes,dunnocks and house sparrows, wood pigeons, jackdaws and crows. It's also been spawn time for the frogs - twenty one clumps of spawn so far - and at night the lawn's been covered in common newts.

Just one familiar face missing from all this spring revelry and that's the hedgehog. The one in the shed's either dead or still hibernating, and I haven't seen the compost heap hog about either. However, this afternoon I did spot what I think is hedgehog scat by the bird bath, so I'm putting the trail camera out tonight along with the usual saucer of cat food.