Another Sunny Day.

Unmissable Manchester, originally uploaded by mithering.

I like the plain but, er, eye-catching design of this relatively new advertising campaign for Unmissable Manchester. The smaller text implores you to 'keep your eyes open for this year's spectacular events'. Uh-oh, here comes a parade. More to the point, keep your eyes, ears and mind open and you'll experience something much more precious than a Lithuanian live artist dressed as a pink cicada in The Arndale. You'll see the increasing reclamation and colonisation of the inner-ring road area of Manchester and Salford by my old pals, The Birds.

Most recent highlight was today's beautiful, perky, male Redstart perched on top of a street light and singing as if his life depended upon it. He was my first in any place, so to see him high above the former Victoria Bus Station, adjacent to the Bijou Lounge or as it is more famously known from barrel-scraping Blind-Date-rip-off show Take Me Out, Fernando's, was a delight.

The increased presence of the city centre Goldfinches is something which has become more and more apparent as Spring has lengthened the days. I don't see them every day, but I usually hear them, scrapping away over the Church Street multi-storey car park or flocking around the small thicket of trees clinging on just off Tib Street.