With Dawn getting up at 3:45am to go to work I managed to get up myself and head off to Nightingale Wood. I arrived just as the sun was coming up at around 5:00am. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I stepped out of the car, but apart from a couple of
Song Thrushes and a the sharp trill of a
Wren, that was all I heard, until I headed off towards Brook Meadow. En route there were a lot of
Blackbirds feeding along the grass verges of the paths and every now and then a
Robin would fly down from the bushes, grab something in its beak and fly back again.
The sun starts to rise
As I approached Brook Meadow I could hear the squealing of
Water Rail to the right of the sign. Wherever they were they well hidden and though I could hear them I never got to see them. As I made my way round to Marston Brook a
Grey Heron took off from around the pond, no doubt annoyed that I had interrupted his breakfast of frogs and toads that inhabit the water there.
To the right of the sign were Water Rail squealing.
Following the brook down to the River Cole the mist was just coming off the fields and as I reached the river I could see on the other side of the meadow that the mist was quite intense around the pool. As I walked along the bank of the river a couple of
Common Whitethroat scolding me as I dared to invade their patch and as I looked through the gap in the wood where the sun was just coming up a
Cuckoo called in the distance.
The mist rises along the River Cole
In the distance as the sun rose a Cuckoo called
Past the pool a
Willow Warbler was singing and was just one of 6 I heard this morning. Here's a recording I made of it below.
Willow Warbler singing
It wasn't just the bird singing either as all around the wood there were
Roe Deer,
Muntjac and
Foxes calling. As I left the river behind I headed back towards the main wood. Along one of the tracks which takes you past the aerial, there was a large
bracket fungi growing at the base of an
Ash tree.
At the base of an Ash tree a Shaggy Bracket - Inonotus hispidus
A Shaggy Bracket in pristine condition
Further along the track the sun caught the old
Oak tree on my left and lit it up. To the left of it a Roe Deer was munching away on top of the mound, but soon disappeared as I approached. In the bushes along this track there was another pair of Common Whitethroat which also scolded me as I walked on past. At the top of the track there's a T-junction, to the right takes you to Rove's Farm and to the left back towards the cottages, eventually that is. As I turned left I could hear a Treecreeper calling and sure enough up another Oak tree was one high up in the upper branches. This individual had a ring on its right leg, no doubt ringed by Graham or Phil Deacon.
The Oak tree lights up as the sun hits it
A Roe Deer
Treecreeper
With a ring on its right leg
Off up the tree never to climb down it.
Around by the cottages the sun had woken up the
Swallows and four youngsters were flying around with the parents and then landing on the telephone line for a breather. They weren't the only ones using the wires as a male
Linnet alighted on them and then flew off as the
Swallows flew over his head. At the far end of the telephone lines a
Grey Squirrel was perched on the top of the pole. He had a bit of a scratch and then shot down onto the track before disappearing into the Hazel trees. In fact in total I must have counted at least 14 squirrels that were all munching away on the Hazel nuts throughout the wood.
Barn Swallow
Soaks up the sun
You can just make out a Grey Squirrel on the telegraph pole.
A quick scratch and then he was off.
Also on the wires a male Linnet
As I made my way back to the car park a
Buzzard was on the telegraph poles again just past Roves Farm. This is the second time I've seen it sitting there, and just like the last time it flew off as I got a bit too close. At the car park a
Sparrowhawk shot over the trees and disappeared into the wood, much to the surprise of the
Bullfinches and
Goldfinches that were feeding on the thistles. I didn't see him take a bird, but he must have given them a fright.
Birds recorded: 2 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Buzzard, 2 Pheasant, Water Rail, Moorhen, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, 1 Collared Dove, 3 Swift, 2 Green Woodpecker, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 5 House Martin, 6 Swallow, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, 2 Garden Warbler, 5 Common Whitethroat, 6 Blackcap, 14+ Chiffchaff, 6 Willow Warbler, several Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, several Treecreeper, Wren, 2 Jay, Magpie, Rook, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Bullfinch and Yellowhammer.
No butterflies or dragonflies seen, or indeed any insects.
Mammals seen and heard: 14+ Grey Squirrels, dozens of Rabbits, 2 Roe Deer, Muntjac and Fox.
