IT IS ALWAYS good to make new discoveries and the highlight for me last week was finding a small flowering clump of Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem growing on the banks of the River Devon (pictured).

It is a scarce and rather rare plant, with the most exquisite greenish-yellow little flowers that are easy to miss as they blend in so well with the surrounding environment.

I had never seen Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem before, so it was a real thrill to find it growing here in Strathdevon.

The rapidly warming temperatures has meant that spring has really moved into full gear now, with chiffchaffs singing their persistent two-syllable calls and willow warblers making their presence felt with their wonderful sweet, cascading song.

The naturalist John Burroughs eloquently described the willow warbler’s song as a ‘tender delicious warble’ that ‘expires upon the air in a gentle murmur’.

Blackcaps too are now back in force and it is easy to understand why this small migratory warbler is sometimes dubbed the ‘northern nightingale’.

It is nigh-on impossible to give a true insight into the beauty of the blackcap’s song through the written word, but suffice to say the melody has a volume and richness that few other birds can match.

It is delivered with quite startling boldness; there is no gentle warm up or soft introductory tones, just an incredible short blast of high intensity music.

The next few weeks will be a frenetic period of activity for our birds as they get down to the business of laying eggs and rearing young.

And one of the highlights of the coming few weeks will be the emergence of increasing numbers of butterflies, bringing real colour and vibrancy to the air.

@BroomfieldKeith