Months of planning, all set to go and then this Corona nonsense came along. The March 2020 Safari to Uganda had to be postponed. I was bitterly disapointed, didn’t even unpack my travel bag for a week. But that gave me an idea. Why not make my own safari at home? Here I am, locked down on a beatiful country estate with woodlands, lakes (very small ones) and meadows and plenty of birds around. Almost no airplanes going over, very few cars and people around and it’s springtime. Not that bad really.

The weather is fine and there’s not much to do, so most days I make an early morning walk with my binoculars and camera. Most of the trees are still leafless so the woodland birds are easier to see and photograph.

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As the days pass – and according to the news corpses are piling up around the world – here spring progresses joyfully and rapidly. Wood Anemones burst in to bloom in the forest and birdsong is all around.

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Starlings are setting up house in an old woodpecker’s hole, and the Grey Wagtails (a rarity in our area) are behaving very territorially around an ivy-covered tree just next to the castle gate.

What about the Lakes? Plenty of action there, hormones are surging among our resident ducks as the males battle it out and pairs start forming.

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Moorhens and Coots are busy too, the Coots constructing large floating nests. However the big surprise comes when a group of six Greylag Geese drop in and decide to stay. I have only seen a few of these here before and these ones show signs of settling in and perhaps nesting. We already have Canada Geese and Egyptian Geese (both exotic introduced species) but if thes Greylags stay we will have a real native goose.

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As March leads in to April, the woods come in to leaf, fruit trees blossom and bees and butterflies come out of winter storage.

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Migrants start to arrive – one day I see (and hear) a Blackcap and the next day they are everywhere, all males and singing away, establishing their terrirtories (the females will arrive later). Swallows pass through, some Storks land in a field nearby, news from Africa!

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Besides birds (and Bumblebees) I also run in to some of our resident Mammals. Hares live up to their reputation for spring madness; for a week or so they show up all over the place running around in circles, engaging in comical boxing matches and generally ignoring people completely. Then they dissappear – back to their normal stealthy ways.

Red Squirrels are shy too, but I manage to see them occasionally – even a photo now and then. Most secretive are the Roe Deer, and I am pretty happy to get a shot of one’s bottom!

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Now well in to April, and it’s green, warmer and the days are longer. Jules the Donkey and Lady the Arabian Mare are getting fat on the spring grass. And in the lake the first fluffy ducklings are paddling around under their mum’s watchful eyes.

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I’d still love to be in Uganda on Safari, but I guess this lockdown situation has taught me to appreciate what’s right here, right now. Still, I wish they had Barbets in Belgium…