Fourteen eager members arrived, some having sampled the great food at the Woodman Pub, others having sampled the great beer, and a few who didn’t realise what a lovely pub it was! The weather was dry, but fairly windy – during the day it had been awful – strong winds and heavy rain for most of the afternoon.
We set off on the walk into Goathurst Common through a wet and muddy field and it wasn’t long before we heard a tawny owl screeching. Once it became dusk, we saw some pipistrelle bats, and Ian detected several more on his bat detector. A few lucky people who were lagging behind caught a glimpse of a nightjar flying, but unfortunately we didn’t hear or see any more after that. Ian saw a woodcock roding while he was taking a diversion in the woods. On the way back, we saw some glowworms shining under the ferns.
Isn’t it always the way – last year we had good views of nightjar, woodcock and lots of bats – but nobody turned up to share the experience with us! Never mind – there’s always next year!!
Ian & Sue Griffin