Country diary: the marshes are alive with the sound of birdsong

Waltham Brooks, West Sussex: Newcomers are adding their voices to the morning chorus, alert to the emerging insects

The wind is brisk and cold, but the rain has stopped, the morning mist is dispersing and the sun is breaking through the cloud. My boots sink into mud and waterlogged grass with every step. I have to leap across submerged ditches and pools to avoid wading up to my calves through the water.