Saw the first swallow here in the Marches on the 9th. Snowing here at present so could be a while before I see them again. The pairs of Nuthatches, Stock Doves and Goldfinches that have been visiting the bird table recently are now down to one bird at a time, so I guess they're nesting. We decided the other day that in the years since the cats we brought with us died and haven't been replaced the bird population close to the house has increased around four-fold, with new species of ground feeding birds added every year.