The Little Black Month and the Great Grey Heron

It is February. The days are still short and the weather can be drab or brute. But look closer and you can see the embers in the dark. There are more buds, more birdsong, more green shoots, and jewels of early flowers pitting the murk of soggy soil and sad grasses.

See the woodpigeons confirming their enduring bonds, and the blackbirds beginning to pair up in time for spring. Their courtship has begun, chasing thorny romance among the wakening hedgerow, which is still bustling with the foraging antics of small birds and passing feeders.

I looked out of my window recently to see this (see video below) and marvelled at the persistence and boldness of nature, and the prevailing power to surprise. If you listen carefully you can hear him protesting at the cheek of the juvenile gull. It was a moment that certainly sparked off my February. Yours is out there waiting for you too.