the best day of the year

I don't know why but the sight of martins returning to nest is one of the happiest of the year. We have had reports of sightings nearby and today they turned up in large numbers. I noticed a gang of minatory house sparrows lined up on the guttering first, they were obviously planning to steal the old nests before the rightful owners could get back in.

And our great tit laid five eggs this morning.

Calstock

The Tamar Inn, Calstock on a busy afternoon. Interesting junk for sale further up the street.

proper job

Native bluebells showing off their characteristic deep blue violet colour. I hope they last until May. In local Cornish dialect "proper job" is used to describe anything truly appropriate or fitting to the task or well done. "Heller" is anything very bad or very good. And of course there is "dreckly" which notoriously means the same as manana but with less urgency.

first of the year

the first early purple orchid of the year in amongst the fading daffodils at the entrance to Duchy College.

another occasional find 2

white alkanet

This is a rare variant of green alkanet (which is blue of course), but an example appears most years in the same spot in a little lane nearby.

bullfinch

a bullfinch, a very occasional visitor to the niger seeds, with a goldfinch on the other side, spotted and described by Charlie Price aged 4yrs and 11 months. Well done Charlie!