Finished work early on Thursday and decided to head to Thorne Moors. By the time I'd stopped for diesel (£1.29 a litre), food (£2.29 sausage roll, 89p Hula Hoops, £1.09 can of coke), and an over-running one hour lecture on the Philosophy of Cellular Biology (free), I was questioning the wisdom of my plan. Not only was it going to be almost dark by the time I got to the observation tower, but I also wondered if it would have been cheaper to go and see Red-Footed Falcons in Ukraine.
On the Moorends side, the council have erected barriers apparently to designate the site as great for motocross, but which ensure visitors to the nature reserve have to walk 2 miles to the entrance. A Green Woodpecker laughed at me, but I saw Linnet, Bullfinch, Whitethroat by the time I reached the reserve. Good views of Garden Warbler, Turtle Dove, Reed Warbler, Stonechat en route as I made it out to the middle of the moor just before sunset and was relieved to find the 2CY female Redfoot perched up almost straight away.
Flushed a female cuckoo as I walked a little closer and hunkered down to get awesome scope views as it returned to hunt out pipit nests. It had a browny orange iris, which BWPi says is "rare", detail-fans.
Red-foot sat preening for about twenty minutes before flying to more distant birches and I decided to watch the dusk from the tower for a while. A snipe drummed but I couldn't find it despite having earlier learned that they describe a circle of 100m-800m circumference at a height between 30m and 150m. (wish you had BWPi, too?)
No more falcons and I was too scared of getting lost and sinking in the mire to wait late enough for nightjar. Now I know the route, and didn't actually need a torch on the way back, I'll be braver next time. But the Rhododendron tunnel is creepy and I don't know whether the deer I met in there was more or less startled than me.
Finished nicely with a gropper singing back near the car.
Graham