Spring has leapt forward since my last post as, yesterday, I was finally able to do some Brussels birding to a background chorus of Chiffchaff song. A discreet sieeuw call alerted me to the presence of two Reed Buntings hiding in the reeds, and the above bird was one of two handsome, male Black Redstarts in summer plumage which were busy chasing each other around. My first butterfly of the year, probably a Small Tortoiseshell, fluttered quickly by, and the forest, which is still totally devoid of leaves, is at least starting to show signs of life at ground level as the dainty, little Wood Anemones are coming into bloom.
