Galloway farmer Jamie Blackett on duck dating, snowdrop splitting, welcoming avian visitors and manning the barricades against an unwanted national park.
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…
