This trip was the one which should have taken place on 7th June, but had to be rescheduled after the National Trust closed parts of the park as a result of damage to a number of trees resulting from the recent gales.

The 13th of June, in contrast presented a warm still evening which meant that we had to wait longer than normal for the Nightjars to appear.  Interestingly, in such perfect conditions, one would have expected to get at least as many species as we did on our visit on the 23rd May.  However this was not to be with 39 recorded and yet we clocked Mandarin, Greenfinch and Tawny Owl which we didn’t record last time. That being as it may, the stars of the show were again the Nightjars and the Woodcock.  The latter treated us to some marvellously close views with as many as four flying at once making their squeaking calls.  The first churring of the Nightjars happened at 21:46, a good half an hour later than on the previous trip.  Also, they weren’t churring as frequently until around about 22:20.  However, we did get to see a male and a female flying together on several occasions, complete with a bit of wing clapping and ‘yelping’ from the male.

Maximum numbers had booked on this rightly, popular trip and with the weather being incredibly warm, with little wind, hopes were high that we would break the previous record of 44 species of bird identified.  Indeed, the evening started well with linnets and a Yellow Wagtail spotted on our way to the ford near to Hardwick Village. At or near the ford, a Cetti’s warbler was heard and there were a few Sedge Warblers and Reed Buntings whizzing around to keep us entertained.
At about 9 p.m. we drove to the area where we hoped to see the Nightjars and we’d only been there a few moments when the first Woodcock flew overhead.  Ten minutes later, while it was still quite light, we heard the first Nightjar churring.  It seemed to be coming from close to the top of some nearby pine trees and this was confirmed a moment later when someone spotted it perched on a branch.  We stayed in the same spot until about 10:20 p.m. getting frequent sightings of flying Woodcock with a maximum of 4 at any one time.  We also had excellent, close sightings of a male Nightjar, displaying to the female with wing clapping and yelping cries.
The last species to be identified was a cuckoo, which rather surprisingly was still calling after 10 p.m.  Total species seen/heard was 44 so the record remains.

Six members attended this meet on a gorgeous sunny day marred a little by a rather strong wind.  The target species was the Nightingale but when we arrived at ‘Nightingale Corner’ it was to find that the bird had just departed.  Ten minutes later there was still no sign and with the majority of the party never having seen one before and expectations being high, the trip leader wondered if his best course of action was to sneak off unseen and thus avoid a potential lynching party.
Hoping to find Nightingales further on, we set off round Coot Lake and fortunately were soon distracted by hearing and then getting fleeting glimpses of Lesser Whitethroats.  Added to this were good sightings of Blackcaps and Garden Warblers as well as a fabulous surround sound serenade from these warblers.
Having done a full circuit of the lake, half the group decided to take a walk round the northerly half of the reserve while the other half returned to the favourite Nightingale spotting place, determined to see the bird.  The walkers eventually returned pleased as punch with their sighting, albeit brief, of a Hobby.  However, their triumphalism proved to be short-lived as the others, with ear to ear grins, had both seen and heard a Nightingale.

Green-veined White

Green-veined White

After lunch the Nightingaless group went back hoping to see the elusive bird and this time were quickly rewarded with a 10 minute serenade from this little brown job as well as the opportunity to see it between the tangle of branches.

After this success, we decided to drop into RSPB Langford Lowfields reserve on our way back.  The highlight here was, without doubt, being able to sit on a bench beside the reed bed, in sunshine, watching up to four Hobbies hawking for dragonflies. And finally, the icing on the birding cake was our sighting of a Whimbrel on one of the islands.
A great day on two excellent reserves with 55 species of bird identified.