Signs of Spring?

The return of the cranes always raises hopes that the worst of winter might be over but there are a few other signs that some other birds are also chancing their arm/wing about Spring being around the corner.
Bird song is an important part of attracting a mate and holding a territory and there's quite a lot of it about at the moment. Robins and great tits are very vociferous particularly in woodland and I heard a couple of dunnock singing and a snatch of chaffinch song today. The loudest offering though is coming from mistle thrushes which is not surprising as they begin their breeding in March.
Other birds are calling of course but for many such as skylarks, starlings and linnets it's seems still a time to be noisily hanging around in gangs rather than seeking out a partner.
A 20K cycle around the Bonnieure and Tardoire valleys turned up just over thirty species today. They came from among the usual suspects, except perhaps for a solitary lapwing near Fougère.