The traditional first day of spring sees song thrushes beginning to build their nests. They are among the early nesters, which include woodpigeons and long-tailed tits. They approach their nests furtively as they bring material, but the nests themselves are sometimes quite conspicuous in the bare hedges. However hawthorn leaves will eventually conceal most of them. They are deep cups made of earth, roots and grass, and have a hard, bare inside of dried mud and manure. The hen will lay about five bright blue eggs with a few black dots. Some precocious blackbirds are also building, but most of them will wait until April. Their nests are fairly similar to the song thrush’s, but it is enough to put one’s fingertips over the edge of the nest to distinguish them, for the blackbirds line their nests with soft, dry grass stems. Blackbird eggs are blue, mottled with light brown.