I’ve written before about a forest I know in the North Downs called Kings Woods. At the height of the fears raised by the forestry sell off I looked Kings Wood up on the map produced by the Forestry Commission and found that it was classified as ‘small commercial’ – didn’t sound very special.
Yet I’ve just come back from my annual appointment with Kings Wood’s nightjars – I’ve been doing that (on and off since the 1970s). Yet the forest does have a commercial life – the shifting pattern of sweet chestnut coppice management means that the ideal areas for nightjars shift as they follow the ideal aged coppice re-growth.
And that’s where a bit of reconnaissance wouldn’t have been wasted as the area I’ve seen and heard nightjars in recent years was getting too tall for them to nest (they nest on the ground). Just before 10:00 pm I heard a nightjar churring, but it was in the distance and not the full show I had hoped for – so I’ll have to put a little time into finding the right area. But the good news is that they are still there, and as I waited for dusk to fall I passed the time chatting with local birders there for their annual fill of nightjars.
A few weeks ago it was bluebell time – and the woodland was filled with families navigating their way though a floral sea.
Small commercial? Bit of a limited perspective, but then that was the problem..
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