5th May 2012: The marsh was covered with St Martin’s flies today, as well as a lot of water. The forecast promised sunny weather, but this didn’t happen; at least, it didn’t rain. I didn’t expect to see the larger animals today, but you just never know what might be about. The anglers complained it was too cold to catch fish, but they persisted with their sport, hunched-up under their hoodies. The swans, the Canada geese, the coots, moorhens, and pigeons were at the usual places. I saw two herons, a few buzzards, a couple of house martins, wrens, green woodpeckers, rooks and crows. I heard my first cuckoo of the year.

The southern end of is always colder than the northern marsh. There probably isn’t any appreciable temperature difference, but it’s windier at the south end.

The trees and bushes are leafing-up nicely, and the very wet weather is bringing on all the ground vegetation; it’s probably a couple of feet tall in places.

I photographed all the overhanging tree and fallen branches that are still in the river after the big flood; maybe funding can be acquired to remove these rubbish hang-up obstacles.