8th of April: Heralding of Spring

For many, Swallows are the heralds of spring. One of the first moths to appear is the Herald. We found one amongst a pile of wood on Blakeney Point today:

This moth will have emerged from its chrysalis in late summer or autumn of last year. Yesterday the first Swallows of the year were seen on the Point. But the true herald of spring at Blakeney is the Sandwich Tern, and tonight's roost count totaled over 1,100.

Myself and Seasonal Rangers Paul Nichols and Sarah Johnson moved onto the Point yesterday. This will be my fifth summer working at Blakeney NNR, and third on the Point, it will be Paul's eighth on the Point, and is Sarah's first. We have been busy cleaning and tidying and are pleased to announce that the visitor centre is now open for the season.

One of our tidying up tasks was retrieving a shed from the marsh. It was originally situated beside Pope's Hut, but was washed away on the 5th of December. I spotted it on Yankee Ridge a few days later and today we returned it to is original location. But for a short while there was a shed on Yankee Ridge:

Bird sightings for the first two days on the Point include Chiffchaff, Wheatears, a female Hen Harrier and a male Marsh Harrier. This morning we found the second nest of the season, another Mallard's, this one was in the garden.

- Ajay (Blakeney Point Ranger)