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The chiffchaffs have arrived back in my garden - a real sign that spring has well and truly sprung and that summer's not too far away. I'm always so impressed that these wee birds fly all the way from Africa! The cuckoo flowers are also out, but no cuckoo yet. I think they wait for the willow-warblers to arrive (so they can commandeer their nests) and I haven't heard one yet - they're usually a week or so after the chiffchaffs.

There's so much avian activity going on that the dogs are on constant tenterhooks, being teased by bold jackdaws pulling bits of twig off the trees and squawked at by angry robins and blackbirds when they disturb their foragings. And the bluetits seem to be obsessed with getting into the house. Last year it was a crazy chaffinch hurling itself at the bathroom window and this year we've had one bluetit in the conservatory, several trying to get in and another one at the back bedroom. I'm assuming they see their reflections and think they're potential mates.

I love this time of year :)