It was a mostly dry, dull cool first week that saw us into the month, and the river level continued to slowly abate from just under the five foot mark.
As the weather improved and the more frequent warm spells continued, the rooks were staking their claims on the old nests up at the rookery,
some of the smaller birds were getting busy around the nest boxes and hedgerows, and a lot of the ducks are sitting tight now. Some frostier mornings saw even warmer spells prevail later on in the day,
and the bees were very active during these times. It was a fine chance to get into and check over the hive, all was fine after a long winter, and the queen excluder was put back on, and the mouse guard was removed.
It was good to see the bees out foraging and flying strong. There are certainly plenty of flowers out just now for the bees to enjoy; from the daffs to chionadoxa and snakes head fritillary
to name but a few and the bluebells are not far away now either.
The grass cutting is underway now in most of the usual places and we are seeing all the hedges starting to green up again. Up at the fishery the daffodils are at their best just now,
quite a picture as a backdrop against the water.
It was good to see the swans back nesting on the island at the fishery again too.
There was a slight spike in the river level for a couple of days near the end of the month; but it was soon falling back again as more good weather prevailed, the level was at three foot five and dropping as the month closed on a lovely warm day.
Dago