Firsts

A day of firsts. Yesterday evening a moth banging against the lounge window was my first of the year. This morning a butterfly was also the first I have seen this year although it was too distant to be sure of species but most likely a Small Tortoiseshell.  My first bike ride of the year took me around Maridalen where I saw the first Lapwings were back, 12 days earlier than last year. Inspired to see if there was anything else there I drove up later and had my first Long-tailed Tits of the year, my first Goldeneye in Maridalen in 2012 and also my first Skylarks back in Maridalen including 2 singing (again 12 days earlier than 2011).

Yesterday a Swallow was seen near Horten just 70 km south of Oslo. This is exceptionally early with only a handful of March records previously.