I can’t wait to…

…SEE NEWBORN LAMBS

Every spring, I have my icy heart thawed by the sight of lambs frolicking in the tremulous rays of sun’s awakening. I don’t want to like them; I’m a hardy, outdoorsy type.

But I just can’t help it: the sight of lambs racing around makes me happy for the whole day long.

Countrywide they start populating the fields from late

January onwards. Most are born outdoors and can stand within the hour. In the first weeks of life, lambs keeps in contact with mum by bleating and each animal has a unique voice. This frail sound of spring, will melt the hardest of hearts all over again. Tom Bailey, Photographer

…HEAR A CACOPHONY OF ROOKS

I like rooks for the same reason the theatre critics are my favourite

Muppets. They sound scathing and cantankerous carking away in their upper-storey roosts, but their energy and noisy companionability are irresistible. Rooks roost in gatherings described as a congregation, building, storytelling, parliament or clamour. Apart from their sociability, they’re distinguished from crows by the grey base of their beak and feathery ‘trousers’. As if they needed humanising any more, they form pair bonds that last for years or life, with just the occasional instance of bigamy – which no doubt sets the rookery talking. Guy Procter, Editor

…SPOT BRIMSTONE BUTTERFLIES

By March, I am desperate for a sign of spring and have been known to squeak with excitement on spying one of these flying by.

The yellow of the male’s upperwings is thought to be the root of butterfly; the brimstone also a nod to its sulphurous hue. It winters as an adult, often hibernating in ivy where its pronounced veins and green underside afford disguise. It produces a form of antifreeze to weather temps down to -20°C, but a sunny day can be enough to warm it out on the wing. You can spot them across England and Wales, their range governed by buckthorn and alder buckthorn, the plants their larvae like to feed on. Jenny Walters, Features Editor