A fully subscribed joint Ogston/DOS trip to Clumber Park braved the dubious weather forecast and while the evening started off with the odd rain shower, the weather did turn fine later on when it really mattered. All in all we identified (saw/heard) 37 different species. Early on these included Linnet, Stock Dove and Reed Bunting which we saw around Hardwick Village. At about 20:30, we set off for the clearing where we hoped to see the Nightjars. In the cold still evening, listening to Tawny Owls and Song Thrushes made for a magical occasion. The stars of the show though were undoubtedly the sighting a Hobby flying across, numerous good views of squeaking Woodcock and finally some impressive views of Nightjars in the gathering gloom. The latter first made themselves known at 21:55 when 3 males started churring. Not long after that we were lucky enough to get some quite close views of the birds flying. All in all an enjoyable evening.
Weird goings on, on what was supposed to be a birding trip