February a harsh month weather wise but Spring is edging closer

February is an odd month, writes Dick Warner

It’s often the cruellest month of the winter with bitter and prolonged frost and always the chance of snow. It’s a particularly hard month for wild birds and small mammals because the autumn abundance of seeds and berries has dwindled, making it difficult to find enough to provide the calories needed for survival in the cold.

However, there are tantalising signs of spring. The fact that the days are getting longer is now obvious at dawn and dusk and it is celebrated by the first tentative trills of bird song. The ones that have survived so far are starting to think that it might be prudent to stake out a breeding territory and set up the avian equivalent of a dating website.