Friday 09 May – Highnam Woods, Gloucester Leader: Gareth Roberts

Thirty members met at the RSPB car park on a perfect evening, the numbers being a testament to the allure of the Nightingale. In common with the picture in the rest of England, the number of singing males here has fallen from 20 in 2001, to only two in each of the last three years. The RSPB has been working hard to maintain the coppice habitat, and in recent years to promote a dense scrub understorey in cleared areas. This has proved popular with Willow Warblers, and we heard one as we went round the nature trail. This year there were more singing Blackbirds, 16, than Song Thrush, twelve. Robin, Blackcap, and Chiffchaff completed the early soundscape. At about 20:25 we arrived at the territory of the first Nightingale, and to our delight he was singing close by. The same bird had been heard, and photographed, by a member at 09:30 that morning. We listened with rapt attention for half an hour. The second bird was quiet. Research suggests that all Nightingales breeding in England come from a relatively restricted area around The Gambia. Southern European Nightingales come from a much larger area, centered on Ghana. Habitat loss in their non-breeding range may be as important to their story as habitat loss in England. See www.bto.org and search for Nightingale connectivity. (Thanks to RSPB Gloucester for access to the car park, to Alan Daniells for the list (17 species), and to Gareth for leading). Gareth Roberts