The Hidden Gem

The ultimate challenge in springtime is to find a Woodcock incubating eggs. The camouflage when it lays them amongst leaves and bracken is superb as is shown by this weeks sitting  female. She laid her eggs on or about the 20th March which is exceptionally early and means she had to sit through two periods of snow! In more than fifty years of searching for Woodcock nests this nest is only the 13th that I have seen – it is the greatest Pennine challenge in springtime and becomes harder each year as the Woodcock has declined by more than fifty percent in the last twenty years.
Since last weeks blog on Goosanders ten were present on our local canal three days ago and this is certainly a local record.