Aerial ballet

I had the Lower Hide at Leighton Moss all to myself this afternoon. There are a couple of pairs of lapwings nesting on the wet grassland in front of the hide. For a while the females were sat tight on the nests while the males strutted about and posed.

Then one of the males would launch himself into a display flight, fast aerobatic flips, swoops and swerves, all the while calling plaintively. Just briefly there were two together, a spontaneous ballet in the air, was it two males or a male and a female?

The extra shows one of the males on the ground, his greenish plumage explaining the lapwing's other name of green plover. Look at those plume feathers on his head. Who needs a bird of paradise when we have something as smart as this?

At lunchtime, Gus and I saw our first wheatear of the year in Redhills Pasture. Yesterday morning, our first willow warbler of the year was singing on top of the Knott in spite of the wintery chill. Spring is here.