Wetlands: waiting for the spring

More rain throughout much of last week, so the water level in the wetlands at the end of ul. Trombity is higher than ever. The place is waterlogged (below). Compare this with how it looked two months ago; the resting place of the dead fox (last photo in that sequence) is also under water.


One difference from a week ago - the black-headed gulls are returning. Not yet in huge numbers, but their distinct crackling, screeching sound is audible from hundreds of metres away. Right: Almost there: A black-headed gull perches on a railway pantograph gantry close to the reed marshes.

I crossed the tracks to hear another familiar avian returnee - a skylark in song high above the fields.