Welcome to………………………….. sorry the location is secret! Let’s
just say it was not far from Darley Dale.
But it was a site
known well enough for Mike to direct us to an open area renowned for Woodcock and
Nightjar. And despite my 6 layers of
clothing it was still b****y cold. We
started slowly, but in the dying light we enjoyed hearing and ultimately
seeing, an invisible Willow Warbler singing away, and we also heard a Cuckoo several
times.
The patience of we 4 was rewarded with at least 14
sightings of Woodcock, but there was no way of knowing if we were seeing the
same bird toying with us 14 times, or whether it was 14 different birds… probably the former, but Eric and Mike did
spot 2 together at one time so we will never know..
This new destination turned out to be almost what we expected (although we did miss the Tree Pipits), and patience and shivering was compensated by a reasonable view of one Nightjar on a dead tree. It was thanks to Mike's telescope that we all had a reasonable view of the back of the bird to aid it's identification and Nightjar churring added to the experience.
For regulars just to mark your card, the next walk FRIDAY 5th
JULY
is to another new location, Annesley Gravel Pits where there
is a Free car park, right by Newstead Station.
As it is a slightly longer journey, we plan to leave Allestree at
9.00am and be back for c12.45.
Contact the library to book a place.
Happy Birding
No comments:
Post a Comment