This time of year is really peak time to see so many species that only grace our shores with their wonderful presence for a brief time each year.
On Wednesday evening I joined some of our loyal volunteers and curious enthusiasts on a walk in Llandegla Forest to look for one of these annual visitors.
We all had our fingers crossed that we would be lucky enough to see the magical Nightjar.
We met at 8pm, armed with our binoculars, torches and insect repellent and set off up the track through the forest.
The volunteers, some of which started volunteering with the RSPB about 40 years ago, know this area and it’s wildlife like the back of their hand, not least because of the annual Black Grouse Date with Nature walks that have been lead by volunteers in the forest each Spring for the past 10 years. I like hearing their stories of the sights they’ve seen and the interesting characters that they’ve met on the walks over the years.
We wondered along the track enjoying listening to the calls of countless species as they prepared for night time. We saw coal tits, goldcrests, song thrushes, tree pipits and countless pied wagtails, and those are just the species I can remember.
Snaking through the trees the view was glorious as the glow of the setting sun shone brightly in between the tree trunks and the sky gradually became a gradient of blues, pinks, purples and orange. As the path ascends you eventually see where the moorland meets the forest. Some of the volunteers had a quick look over the moorland and saw two Black grouse from the hide. We were all trying to identify species by their silhouette by this time, which proved very difficult.
This more open area was a bit breezier so we had some relief from the biting midges that had accompanied us the whole way through the forest. The breeze also cooled the air and we all started piling on the layers.
A full moon rose to shine brightly over out heads as we waited patiently, listening intently for that otherworldly sound that means our magnificent visitors are around. As the sky darkened we suddenly heard the ‘ray-gun-like’ noise we’d all been waiting for. Although it was quiet at first, it really is unmistakable, there’s no other bird that makes such a strange sound. I can quite see how some late-night walkers in days gone by might have been utterly terrified by such a sound and made their way home quite a bit more briskly afterwards.
We listened to the whirring noises growing louder and louder as one after another more and more birds joined in the chorus, with us all pointing out in different directions, trying to pin-point where we needed to be looking to catch a glimpse of this eerie bird.
We moved back along the path and then suddenly up out of the young self-seeded pine trees came two fluttering figures flying gently, close to the vegetation for a second before dropping back down. They must have been about 15 meters away from us at most! The whole group was suddenly full of energy and excitement. We were lucky enough to watch at least five separate birds flitting in and out of view, up and down from the vegetation as beautiful silhouettes for about twenty minutes. We really couldn’t have hoped for a better view. At one point one of them came flying around and landed only about a meter from the path’s edge. Begrudgingly we had to make our way back down through the forest to go home.
I personally feel so privileged to live in an area where these migrants come each year, but it’s definitely a case of having to know the exact place and being there at the right time. You need the knowledge and experience that our volunteers have to get such a special experience, but I guess you may just be in the right place at the right time.
Early June is the best time to see this spectacular scenes, so why not go for a night time walk in a local pine forest, you never know, you might discover a secret hidden treasure.