The swifts are back! Christleton is one of the few places in the Chester area where there is still a colony of swifts. These elegant supremely fast fliers arrive back from their winter home in Africa almost on the same date every year 7th May. This year I saw one over The Pit on the 3rd, with ten over the lake at Hockenhull on the 4th May. When these amazing birds have mysteriously arrived in the village, I’ve always felt that summer must be just around the corner. They are such fast fliers that they will be difficult to pick up in flight, but the screams they call as they fly will make them more visible. The best place to hear them is around the middle of the village, the Primary School field, and The Ring O Bells, especially in the evenings.

The cuckoo which once was the signal of spring has been missing from the Parish for probably ten years now, but there is welcome news of a pair seen and heard on Bickerton Hill, and another near Beeston Castle. I’m also pleased to report that tiny willow warblers have arrived back for the third year running after years of absence. They can easily be confused with the chiff chaff, except when they call. Willow warblers have a very fluted sweet descending trill unlike the name sounding chiff chaff. Both sing from the tops of trees or hedgerows. Another welcome returning bird is the whitethroat. They can be identified by their dark heads and white throats, and from the scratchy calls as they fly into the air and then descend back to the top of the hedge from which they flew. Sedge warblers with their harsh grating notes mixed with melodic phases, have also arrived in good numbers, with at least 10 singing males in the reed beds at Hockenhull. They have distinctive white eye stripes with creamy white under- parts.

There are still lots of birds nest building, just as others try to disturb them. We watched horrified recently as a noisy aggressive nuthatch tried to raid the nest of a tiny blue tit busily trying to line its next with moss and webs. Sadly the nuthatch won. Tiny Siskins, a smaller version of the greenfinch family have become more and more common these days and can often been seen on birdfeeders with goldfinches. Greylag geese seem to be a permanent feature of the Pit these days, whilst surprising visitors to Hockenhull are six common shelducks, and three oystercatchers. The oystercatchers are actually breeding. I’m also pleased to report that I’ve found two new swan nest sites, the first at the secret lake at Walk Mill, and the other at Stoneyford Gardens near Delamere Forest. The pen seems to be very happily incubating eggs at both sites, so I hope to give you good news of the birth of some healthy cygnets next month. The cob pictured at Stoneyford is a really elegant mature bird and is guarding the nest site well.

I can also report that the only wild cowslip site that I am aware of in the parish, has once again delighted with a good display of flowers. There are however tens of thousands of them flowering alongside the A55 on both sides of the road between Northop and Conway, and even more on the Great Orme at Llandudno. Another interesting site is the small wildflower patch alongside the Cheshire Cat and the A41, where hundreds of flowering red campion flowers are currently on view.