A walk around Queen's Park this morning produced a total of 34 bird species with the highlights being jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch. At least four Common Frogs were in the "nature pond", two of which in amplexus.  

A lunchtime visit to the Neuer See at the west end of the Tiergarten produced sightings of Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Mallard, bibbed Mallard, Coot and Moorhen and the calls of Nuthatch and Great Spotted (or similar) and Green Woodpeckers. The only plant in flower was a Spring Snowflake (Leucojum vernum), a new species for me.

Our guided walk around the sights of Central Berlin this morning left little time for birdwatching. However lots of House Sparrows were chirruping around the (so-called) luxury flats that used to house East Germany's elite athletes. Hooded Crows were a constant presence and I heard a Peregrine calling while we visited what was left of the Berlin Wall. I was disappointed to find that the Linden trees along the Unter den Linden were still in their winter dormancy. In the afternoon, a very short walk through one edge of the Tiergarten produced Blue Tit, Great Tit and a calling woodpecker (possibly Great Spotted).

A male Blackbird was singing in the Shawlands darkness as we headed out for our flight to Berlin. Once settled into our hotel, we headed out for a walk along the River Spree. Birds on or beside the river consisted of a Great Crested Grebe, two Cormarants, two Coot, a Hooded Crow and about 20-30 Black-headed Gulls.

Lochwinnoch was wet and windy this morning but a walk around produced all the common village birds. I checked on the patch of Rustyback Fern on the gable end of a building in Calderhaugh Lane. Unfortunately it is now quite small and may not last much longer, especially as the building itself seems to be crumbling away. I checked lots of suitable-looking walls around the village but was unable to find any other sites supporting the species. Back home, I found my first frogspawn of the year in the nature pond in Queen's Park. 

I enjoyed a windy walk up to the summit of the Braid Hills in Edinburgh today. Botanical highlights consisted of Giant Butterbur beside the Braid Burn and Winter Aconite in Faimilehead Public Park. Best bird was probably a Great Spotted Woodpecker flying over the top of the Braid Hills as I started walking down.  

I caught the bus out to Hairmyers first thing, then walked back to Clarkston over the farmland to the west of Thorntonhall. A flyover Yellowhammer, a single Tree Sparrow and a flock of about thirty Redwings were the highlights of the first section (from Peel Road to Waterfoot). The later section through Flenders Farm was notable for large numbers of Tree Sparrows.