monkeyman
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Ali and I had arranged to take JohnJ and his partner, Ros, for a wee trip around the Chase today. The weather was not too brilliant, but the rain held off apart from the few odd spits and the wind was very fresh from the northwest!
John and Ros arrived at our place at 11.30 and we had coffee before we bundled all four dogs into our cars. John had told us that two Hen Harriers had come up on his pager and could be seen from Aspen, so we made this our first port of call. There was another birder there, but he hadn't seen anything. We hung about for five minutes before heading off to Brocton Coppice. We had another look for the harriers from there, but dipped again. However, the day was for showing Ros and John an area that they hadn't been to before (and to let the dogs have a good run) so we headed off downhill toward the Sher Brook.
Sunday is not the best time to be there as there are a lot of people about, and a lot of keen types on mountain bikes! However, we were enjoying the walk through the birch trees, and when we came to Stepping Stones, we showed them the nestbox the Pied Flycatchers use every year and the hole in the old oak where we observed Treecreepers nesting last summer. The coppice, with some of the oldest oak trees in the UK, was very quiet. In summer you can hardly hear yourself think for the birdsong!. On the way back up the hill we spotted a very obliging Robin that sat only a few feet above us. Robins abound here. We saw blackbirds, chaffinches, wrens and tits. I decided to take us to another part a feww hundred yards away that gave some great views over Staffs and Salop (well on a clear day it does!)
The wind was bitter, but we walked a circuit that yielded a Green Woodpecker and a Fieldfare in a wild apple tree. Back at the cars a beautiful male Bullfinch flew past us and very obligingly posed in a hawthorn about twenty yards away.
As it was getting on and the skies looked ominous, we decided to call it a day and head home for a cuppa. We stopped off at Aspen again, where a few more scopes were scanning the heath, but the harriers didn't show. We did spot two raven and three fallow deer which cheered us 'though.
We had a good day out in the fresh air and, as they say in God's country, the craic was good!
The dogs are fast asleep in front of the fire now. Bliss!
John and Ros arrived at our place at 11.30 and we had coffee before we bundled all four dogs into our cars. John had told us that two Hen Harriers had come up on his pager and could be seen from Aspen, so we made this our first port of call. There was another birder there, but he hadn't seen anything. We hung about for five minutes before heading off to Brocton Coppice. We had another look for the harriers from there, but dipped again. However, the day was for showing Ros and John an area that they hadn't been to before (and to let the dogs have a good run) so we headed off downhill toward the Sher Brook.
Sunday is not the best time to be there as there are a lot of people about, and a lot of keen types on mountain bikes! However, we were enjoying the walk through the birch trees, and when we came to Stepping Stones, we showed them the nestbox the Pied Flycatchers use every year and the hole in the old oak where we observed Treecreepers nesting last summer. The coppice, with some of the oldest oak trees in the UK, was very quiet. In summer you can hardly hear yourself think for the birdsong!. On the way back up the hill we spotted a very obliging Robin that sat only a few feet above us. Robins abound here. We saw blackbirds, chaffinches, wrens and tits. I decided to take us to another part a feww hundred yards away that gave some great views over Staffs and Salop (well on a clear day it does!)
The wind was bitter, but we walked a circuit that yielded a Green Woodpecker and a Fieldfare in a wild apple tree. Back at the cars a beautiful male Bullfinch flew past us and very obligingly posed in a hawthorn about twenty yards away.
As it was getting on and the skies looked ominous, we decided to call it a day and head home for a cuppa. We stopped off at Aspen again, where a few more scopes were scanning the heath, but the harriers didn't show. We did spot two raven and three fallow deer which cheered us 'though.
We had a good day out in the fresh air and, as they say in God's country, the craic was good!
The dogs are fast asleep in front of the fire now. Bliss!
