Throughout the woodland, Daffodil leaves have burst up from the ground, with the tallest shoots revealing sunny yellow tips, and a bounty of orange berries can be found across the tussocks of Stinking Iris. Other fresh additions to the ground flora include whorls of Lord and Ladies and the mottled heart-shaped leaves of Celandine, which line the path edges.
There are flowers on show too - a beautiful display of purple Crocuses have blossomed on the corner of the Aviary Glade. And if you look really closely at the budding Hazel, you can see its tiny pink flowers, just a few millimetres long.
A feeling of calm in the woodland this morning: Contrast to the windy weekend and a large fallen branch from a Macrocarpa which succumbed to the gales. Today, the bare tree tops stand motionless, but alive with the sound of bird song. Soft tunes from Robins, Blue Tits, and Great Tits form a continuous backdrop to the soundscape.
It is however the Carrion Crows which lead the show, their loud caws echoing far across Sunnydale. I find 18 of them perched together in just one tree! Somewhere nearby, the familiar drills of a Great-spotted Woodpecker can also be heard.
Work has begun on restoring the Egyptian Seat – now 135 years old. There’s something quite pleasing about hearing the stonemasons at work now, as they would have done all those years ago.
On my return to the centre, I took the usual recordings from the Weather Station. All the while listening to the slow repetitive buzz of Greenfinch who was perched atop a tree near the Hide.