Warm

The forecast for today was for a cloudy, dull start, with the possibility of things brightening up later and a few showers.  So of course, Malcolm and I set out for our walk in glorious sunshine, hardly a cloud in the sky and temperatures rising by the minute.  Strolling around the farmland surrounding Slack Road, we were struck with how quiet it was for a Saturday.

The Carrion Crows were making a noise in the tree tops and the Willow Warblers, recently returned from Africa, were singing their beautiful song.

We heard the first of the summer's Grasshopper Warblers (Locustella naevia) this morning.  Their mechanical chirring, rather like a freewheeling bicycle, came at us across the scrubland, rising and falling in volume as they turned their heads from side to side, throwing their voices so as to make it difficult to pinpoint their location.  A beautiful sound and one which is synonymous with summer.