One of our best ever attendances for a Dawn Chorus walk, sixteen, met at Stony Ridge car park, a little bleary eyed but full of anticipation for what was to come.
The Robin is often the first bird we hear but on this occasion a Chiffchaff got in first. As we walked through woodlands several other species came to life including Wren, Blackcap, Curlew, Chaffinch and Blackbird. Soon after we heard perhaps the most awaited, the Cuckoo.
After making a right turn we descended to the stepping stones which marked a turning point in the walk and a comment from Graham, our walk leader which we knew was coming. “it’s all uphill from here”. To give us a rest we stopped halfway up for a coffee break where we reflected on what we had seen.
We then entered open land which gave us more opportunity to see rather than hear the birds. However, it was a herd of deer on the bank that caught our attention. They were well camouflaged but visible, especially with binoculars. We were now almost back at the car park but for nine of us the experience wasn’t quite over. An eight o’clock full English at the Toby Carvery rounded off the morning.
Many thanks to Graham for organising and leading the walk and to Malcolm and Charles from the Natural History Society for helping us with bird identification.
