Singing Skylark

With a brief break today in the weather, a skylark announced its presence over the fields at the foot of the North Downs. A dandelion in flower on my allotment also suggested that spring has arrived, though this signifies little in a year when summer flowers bloom in January.
The air was full of birds today. It seemed that almost wherever I went I could hear the piping of bullfinches. Thought I heard the rasping call of a yellow hammer but turned out to be a chaffinch.