Harbingers of spring,
the sound of oystercatchers
whistling in the dark.

We went up to the university last night to see Chico and Rita (not as good as the hype – showing nudity and drug-taking doesn’t make animation ‘adult’), and as we left the car park the air was full of the whistling of returning oyster-catchers. They nest on the flat roofs during the spring and they are incredibly noisy, especially at night. In gaelic the are known as ghille-bridhe (the servants of Bridget) because they usually arrive round about her feast day, which is why they are also called Bride’s chickens.