IN the Bible, Noah views the return of a dove as proof that the waters will subside. For us, the first harbinger of spring is a shelduck below the house, seen smudgily through a sepia light, guddling about in a rockpool in what is euphemistically known as ‘nice weather for ducks’.
He’s a week early—normally they turn up on Valentine’s Day, after months of absence, for a spot of speed dating before pairing up and heading