Phone reception is at best poor in the Forest of Dean and unfortunately
I missed the various forms of communication from Steve yesterday afternoon
about some Wild Boar he had found very close to Speech House so after breakfast
and checking out we trundled the short distance down the road to meet up with
him for the outside chance they would still be in the same area of forest.
The crew were mouse quiet as we walked down the track and
with no Boar in view we crept into the forest in the hope that they would be
foraging in a tangle. About 200 yards in
Steve found them and we got to watch three skinny sows with at least 21
variously humbugged piglets in tow as they snuffled and rooted amongst the
safety of several fallen trees.
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| Wild Boar - so cryptic |
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| Wild Boar - Steve Young |
We stayed upwind but the breeze shifted and one of the sows
suddenly knew we were there and stopped and stared. Their eyesight is poor and she came a little
closer but her nose and teddy bear ears certainly found us and after a few
minutes she huffed and turned and the whole procession melted away.
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| Look at those ears! |
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| Follow me! |
What a special encounter and the second time that Steve has come
up with the piggy goods for us. It was
still trying to be a blue sky day and there was lots of bird noise with
Treecreepers, Nuthatches, our first Green Woodpecker and both Song and Mistle
Thrushes as we walked back up to the van where I discovered that the slightly
low tyre had become an almost flat.
We drove back into Parkend where I deposited the crew at the
Hawfinches and followed Steve into Whitecroft where the local tyre man repaired
the puncture (huge screw) and had me back on the road in 15 minutes and in time
to see two male Hawfinches myself too.
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| Hawfinch - just to prove we saw one! |
With some time left and the sun still shining we went back
to the Upper Cannop Pond to try for the male Brambling which was seen as soon
as we reached the feeding station! He
shuffled around looking resplendent in his moulting finery with the brown of
winter slowly wearing down to the inky black of summer. Some of his feathers were exquisite with his
upper tail coverts were white with two long black tear drops in them before the
white rump and lower back while the white flanks feathers each had a ghosting a
grey leaf shape.
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| Brambling |
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| Brambling |
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| Brambling |
I am not entirely sure that he was in tip top condition like
one or two of the Chaffinches but it was still a joy to see one this close and
in such plumage. I think it was a new
bird for most of the group. The Siskins even came down and the Marsh Tits made a
couple of visits among the throng of Great, Blue and Coal Tits present.
Time was getting on so we walked back and watched the
Mandarins, crazy Mute Swans incessantly chasing a dumb Canada Goose just like last
year and flycatching Grey Wagtails.
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| The double foot surge |
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| Tufted Ducks |
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| A glorious Mallard |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Grey Wagtail |
It was the perfect end to the trip. An hour later I had dropped four of them at Bristol
before the cross country route to Maggie’s and further wiggles to Great Ryburgh
and then home to Lowestoft.
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