Walked the Jaw – Greenside loop this morning. Small tortoiseshell & a few orange tips. Lots of birds singing. Cuckoos calling. Cuckoo flowers out & hawthorn quite green now. On the hill: stonechat, larks, a wheatear moving along the path in front. Meadow pipet, a reed bunting. A couple of ravens over the Greenside path.

I had left my camera’s SD card in the reader so missed a couple of opportunities.

Mountainous landscape with Meall an Fhudair under a cloudy sky.

Meall an Fhudair, started bright, drizzle later. Cool breeze. The higher munroes had some snow. A few Cuckoos.Greenshank & Golden Plover on the higher ground. Frogs spawning in a pool in a burn, not in the hill pools yet. Little growth of heather or grass. Few flowers. Primrose lower down. Violets, wood anemones & purple mountain saxifrage (I think).

Grid of images: Blackthorn Blossom; Primroses; a bare tree against the blue sky; a v of geese; a skylark; Duncolm hill; pixie cup lichen; map of where the photos were taken; a raven flying; grouse feather; a tree silhouetted agains the eskine bridge; a wren on a rock; peacock butterfly on dandilion; a gorse bush in flower; bluebells.

Yesterday: Wandering around the Kilpatrick Braes, out to Duncolm & Fynloch hill. Cold start but warmed up. Flowers beginning to blossom, lots of bird song in the trees. A nuthatch piping. Raven croaking in the hills. A few peacock & orange tip butterflies.