Cold, cold spring. With blankets of snow and sub-zero temperatures, signs of spring in the first half of the month were few and far between - no migrants, no spring flowers, no early butterflies. Instead, as in months previous, it was the feeders that kept me active, a fine variety of woodpeckers visiting daily, including a new White-backed Woodpecker (taking the winter's tally to three birds), plus a Grey-headed Woodpecker.

Then came the last ten days of the month, all change ...incoming migrants - Cranes, a Merlin on my land, a Golden Eagle, flocks of Garganey, the floodgates were beginning to open.

Vast flocks of Red-breasted Geese, backed up by an impressive array of other waterbirds, raptors and select specialities, the coast of the Black Sea offers some of the best winter birding in Europe. A five-day mini break, this trip combined the riches of the Durankulak area with excursions to lakes surrounding Burgas and a short trip into the Western Rhodopes mountains.

To a setting sun, the evening flight of 70,000 White-fronted and Red-breasted Geese was the major highlight of the trip, all the more evocative for the Hen Harriers circling in their midst and Golden Jackals calling in the background. In weather that exceeded expectations, other memorable birds included Dalmation Pelicans, Pygmy Cormorants, Syrian Woodpeckers and Sombre Tit. However, for all the birds, it was a mammal that truly stole the show - sunbathing outside a cave, a stunning European Wild Cat, a bonus I really did not expect.