Journalist and part-time shepard Tim Metcalfe is on the lookout for lambs

Waiting for your first lambs of the season is a frustrating time. You may think that you’ve got your breeding calendar right – and check it every day just to make sure – but the ewes always appear to have their own schedule.

It’s a good time to start lambing right now as the weather gods are smiling and the grass is starting to push through new shoots. You can tell when the season is changing from winter to spring when the flock stop eating hay and begin nibbling the grass once more.

This year when that change came it was like a switch had been thrown – I’ve never experienced that before. One day the flock was happily munching on good soft hay, the next they just weren’t interested and walked off to find some fresh shoots instead. I told them they were very ungrateful as I’d just purchased a few bales to see us through to the start of spring. And it’s not cheap stuff these days.

There’s nothing quite like the scent from a good bale of hay harvested on a summer’s day. It may seem a bit odd to you, but I love breaking open a bale and getting that summer smell in the depths of winter.

It seems to me that the rich aroma is a real promise of better days to come.

The sheep seem to know when the spring is coming too – they begin to stay out in the field at night instead of searching for shelter in their barn. However I have also been discouraging them from using the barn since discovering a duck’s nest tucked away in a corner. It may not be the best place for a nest – at ground level and vulnerable to predators. But I plan to start shutting the barn door at night to keep her safe now she seems to be determined to stay put. Mother Mallard is sitting tight on her eggs at the moment – she seems to have got used to my comings and goings during the day. The nest is a real work of art – lined with soft downy feathers and camouflaged with straw.

Our barn is quite a refuge for our feathered friends.

Wrens build their intricate nests in the lean-to and I always look forward to the return of the families of swallows and swifts who make it their home for the summer.

The old building has a pitched roof and the fledglings often use the loft space to practice their flying skills before venturing out into the big bad world.

I enjoy climbing up to watch their practice sessions, much to the irritation of their parents.

Some years ago we put up an owl box on the building after hearing owls in the neighbourhood. But so far there have been no takers, although a local hawk uses it to perch on when scanning the field for mice and voles.

It looks as if there will be plenty of time for bird-watching as we await the arrival of our flock’s first offspring.