My article on Turtle doves in Country Life this week. It looks stunning. Many thanks to those who let me talk to them and who supplied the pictures - including the great Chris Knights - why hasn't this countryside hero been honoured

Thanks go to Robert Denny too, one of the few ordinary farmers to still have genuinely wild Turtle Doves. He's married to one of the best makers of sausage rolls too - double fantastic..

The CRT relaunched as the The Countryside Regeneration Trust - CRT. Next week as the Countryside Refrigeration Trust -CRt. Accompanied by the worst copy of its magazine - The Lark - since it was founded 1993. Yuck - just second rate.

The CRTt's lates edition of the Lark - full of inaccuracies and fantasies - more like a conservation edition of the Sunday Sport.

No mention in The Lark of how the lovely Sarah Jenkins was evicted from the Smallholding at Mayfields. What a shower.

May 1st and some swallows have just arrived - virtually a month late - but better late than never. Halelujah - or however you spell it- now I suppose the weather will cool down and it will rain - I hope so - it is desperately wanted.

Oh dear - 79th birthday - never mind it will give the nodding donkeys - the CRT Trustees the opportunity to continue their two years of malicious harassment - nice people - not.Oh for those talented people and friends who helped to start the real CRT.

The swallows that seemed to have arrived on the 1st of May seem to have disappeared already.

After having served several years as a genuinely independent District Councillor, I am voting for nobody today as they work together to destroy RURAL CAMBRIDGESHIRE. Quite disgusting - nodding donkeys - taken over by mega "Group Think".

The Crt name change shows such disrespect to the founders of the real CRT. Gordon Beningfield, Laurens van der Post, Gill Barklam, Ken Gifford etc. It is just a sign of the times and shows how small minded the present CRT Trustees are.

Another sad day with the death of Robert Gillmor an outstanding conservationist and artist. Our thoughts go out to Sue and the family. RIP Robert you will be greatly missed.

A pair of my sister Rachael's swifts back this morning. So good to see them. Several more swallows too, but not nearly enough.

Have you seen the Royal Mail's latest bird stamps? By the Irish painter and ornithologist Killian Mullarney. Absolutely outstanding. Too beautiful to put on envelopes. I can feel an attempt to get them framed coming on.

And my favorite stamp - I think the swallow, closely followed by the turtle dove - but each one of the set of ten is superb - what talent.

After an almost fruitless year last year the plum and apple trees in the garden are showing signs of being absolutely loaded his year - fingers crossed- no gales or extra late frosts please.

A few years ago it was agreed at a South Cambs District Council meeting that swift boxes would be required on all new build. The officers then forgot the instruction as did the LIB Dims.

Keep your eyes skinned on the Mr Packham front. I think I will have good cause to say "I told you so" in the near future.

The "Whistling Jacks" are out in the garden already - fantastic - wonderful!

The obituary of Tony Fitzjohn in the Times today. He may have been a wildman but at least he put proper conservation before phoney animal rights and his own ego. RIP Tony - a good man and a bad man but one who will be terribly missed.

Carrie Symonds and her ghastly hat in St Pauls today. What a dreadful poser and Boris doing a Bible reading. How inappropriate was that. It lowered the tone of the whole event.