For bird watching, May is a great month. Apart from those birds which stay here all year, there are many migrants which come to breed.

The swallows fly all the way from Africa to nest here and raise their young, returning year after year to the same nest site. Here, they're laboriously collecting mud to build or repair their nests.

Owlsland has various species of owl around, hence the name. These are Scops owl, and this pair has a nest nearby. You can hear them call all the time, but they're rarely seen in daytime, so we were delighted when they perched long enough to snap this photo.

The oriole, with its vivid yellow colouring, is one of the most spectacular migrants. You see him only for a few short weeks at this time, then again in September.

Another bird whose population appears to have increased the past few years is the masked shrike. Several pairs are nesting in our garden and our neighbour's this year.

The dawn chorus at this time of year is absolutely breathtaking. Bezirgan is blessed with many breeds of songbird, one of which is the Sardinian Warbler, which sings from morning till night. Last year was the first time we'd seen these in our garden, but it looks like a pair may nest here this year, which we're really excited about!

Another songbird, this time a collared flycatcher - these small birds have an amazingly loud song for their size. They nested in our garden last year for the first time, so hopefully they'll nest again this year too!

Our dogs love this time of year, before it gets too hot. Anywhere we go, they go too! These are Sweep (with the dots above her eyes) and Bran.

May is still a good time to see wild flowers in the fields and in the mountains. This is a tassel hyacinth.

Cuckoo pint, or Lords and Ladies. One of the first wild flowers to send up new leaves in spring, just now its fascinating velvety purple or black spathes and spikes abound. Beautiful - but they smell horribly!