…. as we made our way out of the house in the gloom of a mid-March morning, shrouded in low, welcome clouds, promising rain.

The bird in question has now moved on so Billy and I will have to go further afield for our Nightingale fix.

It has been ages since my last post, but there have been many hours of staring at the screen, fingers poised, trying to gather my thoughts and put them into writing. For those of you out there that know me, you will be aware that back in December I lost my life partner and best friend Mirga. She had been suffering with a number of medical issues, and her death of course brought an end to the pain, and this continues to give me solace as I grieve. I have been struggling in her absence, and it is only now that I feel able to get blogging again.

I plan to dedicate a page on here to Mirga, once I have scanned and sorted some of the photos I have of her from over the years. I also wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to family and friends alike, for the love and comprehension shown throughout it all.

So back to the birds. Our Winter visitors are headed North and many of the species which come to breed are already present, while others might just hang around for a few days before continuing their journeys. I love watching the flock of Crag Martins being joined by the newly arrived House Martins. It feels like a welcome party, showing the newcomers where the best hunting ground is.

When it comes to the resident birds we have potentially good news: the Ravens are nesting on the cliff and I will be keeping a keen eye on their progress. The local House Sparrow clan seem to be thriving, one of the females has been back checking the waste pipe below my kitchen, where she nested last year. It looks like around 20 pairs of Yellow-legged Gulls will be nesting on the cliff and they are already becoming more aggressive as Billy and I pass close to a nest site.

Here are some photos of birds outside my back door…

As you can see from the soggy sparrow, it has rained in Málaga! In fact, it still is and long may it continue (not according to Billy).