It's Friday night, I have had another difficult week at work chasing numbers.....the market's really tough at the moment but I'm holding my own against the other guys. After a long hard week you'd think I'd be having a nice meal or night out but no, how do I relax? I pick Jim up and we head for West Stow and the Kings Forest in search of Nightjar.
Leaving Essex at 7pm we're parked up in West Stow for 8pm and after a short walk through the trees we find ourselves in a forest clearing that looks ideal so we plot up and wait for dark to fall.
Sundown is 9.20pm but at 10pm it's still light, the temperature starts to fall from the 20 degrees it was when we arrived but there's only a slight breeze.
Hares are playing along the forest tracks and RL Partridge run for cover as we approach.
Lot's of Jay about, Crows and Gulls fly over going to roost and the Geese at Lackford can be heard.
Song Thrush and Whitethroat sing and both GS and Green Woodpecker are seen.
We see a Woodcock fly over calling while it's still light and shortly after another flies through.
The bats start to come out to play and the bugs get bigger and more obvious. Tawny Owls are now calling all around us and then a distant Nightjar starts churring....BINGO!
We move closer and hear more churring between 10.15 and 10.45 before we leave Thetford at 11pm for the hours run home. Another bird on the list for 2012 and now just three short of the target.
Jimmy's happy with his night of nightjars and can't wait to tell the old man what he missed out on.
(I'm sure he'll be gentle with the news.....not!)
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