Spring into action: For an avid lover of wildlife, March is an exciting time of year.

It marks the end of the long (especially this year!), monotonous winter. Thankfully the recent dull and cool weather has failed to halt the progress of spring.

There are signs everywhere that spring is approaching top gear and nothing will get in its way.

Now is the time to get out there and revel in the awakening of our countryside.

So, after a week in the office, what do I look for in the Oxfordshire countryside at the weekend to persuade me that spring has sprung?

Down to the woods: As a keen birdwatcher, I am on the look-out for avian clues.

A Chilterns woodland should reward me with the distinctive sound of a ‘drumming’ woodpecker proclaiming his territory to potential rivals.

It is most likely to be a great spotted, as green woodpeckers rarely drum and the lesser spotted woodpecker is now a rare sight.

BBOWT’s Warburg Nature Reserve, tucked away in a secluded Chilterns valley, could offer the opportunity of encountering all three species of woodpecker — if I am lucky!

I will also keep an eye on the sky for the aerial displays of red kites as they rejoice in the onset of spring.

Red kites are agile, manoeuvrable, graceful and, above all, buoyant as they twist and turn, flexing their distinctive tails to catch the air currents.

Their rufous-brown colours are brought to life by the sunshine of a March day.

Catch the early bird: The wide open vistas of our Chimney Meadows nature reserve on the River Thames in west Oxfordshire offer a complete contrast to the wooded Chilterns, but will also provide further evidence of the relentless march of spring. I usually visit early in the day and hope to be rewarded with some of the iconic sounds of spring.

The song-flight of the skylark is often the first sound I hear as I step out of the car, as the bird takes its cue from the eastern sky.

It is traditionally one of the earliest risers (the origin of ‘up with the lark’) — is there a better songster in the UK?

The same carefully managed areas of rough grassland at Chimney that support good numbers of skylarks is also favoured by curlews.

The evocative bubbling trill song of a curlew as it rises and then descends to the ground in its display flight is a unique sight and sound — and they are already evident at Chimney this month.

Close to home: There is also plenty you can enjoy about the approach of spring right on your doorstep.

Why not wake up slightly earlier than normal, open your bedroom window and listen to this spring’s dawn chorus.

It happens every morning, no two dawn choruses are the same, and it is free to listen to. What a wonderful wake-up call.

Get involved: Visit www.bbowt.org.uk to find out where to see wildlife on Chimney Meadows, Warburg Nature Reserve and other Oxfordshire wildlife havens. Visit the events page on www.bbowt.org.uk for wildlife discovery days for all the family.