Sunday 18 July – Forest of Dean (evening meeting) Leaders: Jane Cumming and Ed Drewitt

Towards the end of a blisteringly hot day, our small party first assembled at Cannop Ponds. The ducks were not looking at their best, many of them being in eclipse plumage, but we picked out Mallard, Tufted Duck and (best of all) eight Mandarin. There was a sizeable Grey Wagtail family flying about at the end of the pond and a Little Grebe. Swift and all three common species of hirundine were identified flying over the water and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew across.    We reconvened at the car park near Crabtree Hill and were introduced to Ed Drewitt who enthusiastically explained the planned walk; evidently it was going to be a multi-sensory experience as Ed described the sights, sounds and even smells we could expect! Almost immediately after we started walking, a Treecreeper was seen and then a Goldcrest, first identified by sound. Noting a Slow worm on the path, we soon came to the edge of the heathland when a Crossbill was first heard and then seen flying overhead. On the heath, we were entertained by a flock of Goldfinches, some Linnets, several Stonechats, a Jay and then a Song Thrush eating a slug on the path. By now it was approaching dusk, so Ed led us to a suitable spot overlooking the heathland area. It was quiet until about 21:45 (with just a Southern Hawker and a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying past us) when a distant ‘churring’ could be made out – Nightjar, our target species. We waited another 30 minutes before heading back to the car park as dark descended. The group had two or three brief glimpses of Nightjars in flight and some lucky people also saw a Woodcock. In the torchlight, we found a number of Dor beetles and Toadlets on the path. (Thanks to Jane and Ed for leading). Peter Bryant