Friday 7th April

Scotland, by Alastair Reid

It was a day peculiar to this piece of the planet,

when larks rose on long thin strings of singing

and the air shifted with the shimmer of actual angels.

Greenness entered the body. The grasses

shivered with presences, and sunlight

stayed like a halo on hair and heather and hills.

Walking into town, I saw, in a radiant raincoat,

the woman from the fish-shop. ‘What a day it is!’

cried I, like a sunstruck madman.

And what did she have to say for it?

Her brow grew bleak, her ancestors raged in their graves

as she spoke with their ancient misery:

‘We’ll pay for it, we’ll pay for it, we’ll pay for it!’

from Inside Out – Selected Poetry and Translations (Edinburgh: Polygon, 2008)

That's enough culture. On with the birdies. 2 newly arrived willow warblers were mingling with the hordes doing the Easter Egg Hunt at RSPB Loch Gruinart's Woodland Trail. Elsewhere around the reserve, skydancing harriers, my first adder of the year, Northern mining bees, drinker moth larvae and beauty and wonder everywhere. In the evening, 11 blackwits, a ruff, 3 gadwall and a greenshank were at the North Hide. 

Out in the Finlaggan area, there was a merlin, more skydancing harriers and at least 9 buzzards making the most of the thermals.

Double D got this great pic of a sat-tagged white-tail at The Oa. He also got a house martin at Kinnabus, and a magpie at Upper Killeyan (BOTD). Steve Rogers saw 2 sandwich terns at Kilnaughton and our very own Peter picked up 4 manxies close to Islay from the ferry as he headed off for his Easter hols. Mary had a swallow in Port Wemyss.

That's yer lot, thanks very much to all the above. Happy Easter to everyone that reads or contributes to the blog.