Day Out To RSPB Coed Llandegla Forest : 15 June 2011
We had heard about the RSPB walks at this forest when we were at RSPB Conwy where they had a leaflet about various attractions under the moniker “A date with nature”. Two of these attractions took place at the Coed Llandegla Forest near Llangollen in Wales. THE RSPB there organises morning trips to see Black Grouse and evening trips to see Nightjars. Taken by the latter prospect we booked two places for 15th June. We stayed at the White Waters Country Hotel in Llangollen, Denbighshire which had the virtue of being reasonably cheap but the room was not without its problems.
For a start it was staggeringly warm – the bathroom was so hot it felt as if there was under floor heating – even the toilet seat was hot ! Additionally, the TV didn’t have a remote, the main light in the bedroom didn’t work and the bathroom light expired while we were there and the room had not been hoovered that well since there was still traces of confetti under the bed and on the carpet left over from the last wedding party that had used the room. This was all a bit disappointing but on the bright side it did have great seated balconies leading off from the dining room and bar where you could sit and look at the river beneath. You could also go down a flight of stairs to the river level which could have been pleasant. On this occasion, however, we didn’t have that much time and it was merely a place to stay for the night so that we did not have to return to Manchester in the middle of the night.
The forest and surrounding lands are owned by UPM Tillhill and covers 650 hectares. It is about half an hour from Llangollen. It was planted in 1972/73 and is largely made up of Sitka Spruce which is partly clear felled and partly selectively felled. Apart from its use as a tree factory there is also a big outdoor pursuits centre which revolves around mountain biking and walking. It seemed very busy with bikers when we arrived and there were lots of bikers coming in from their days activities, washing down their bikes and partaking of the big outdoor barbecue that the cafe there puts on for the hungry bikers. It looked good and there was a proper cafe inside as well. However we were pre-fed and ready for our walk up through the forest and onto the moor.
They manage the forest in a number of ways. Where clear felling has taken place a number of tree trunk stumps are left as perching or singing posts. At some parts of the site batches of trees have been removed to create forest clearings that encourage the settling of widlife.
We were given a brief introductory talk before setting off up the forest to the moor. We stopped at several spots on the way up and the guide explained a bit about the forest management and the local flora and fauna. On our way up could hear Goldcrests, Willow Warblers and Grasshopper Warblers but couldn’t see any of them. As we reached the felled part of the forest we suddenly started to to see birds as well as hear them. A Kestrel flew overhead and on the bare tree trunks we could see a number of Tree Pipits, Redpolls and a Whinchat. Some of the group saw a couple of Crossbills but I didn’t manage to catch them. We also accidentally flushed a female Black Grouse which was a big bonus for us since we were not really expecting to see them at that time of night. The walk took about two hours so by about 10pm or so we were at the position to see the Nightjars. As the evening passed into twilight it started to get a little cold and everyone was wondering whether we would see anything or just hear the Nightjars – or not experience anything at all.
Eventually we started to hear the faint churring of a male Nightjar and expectations rose. Then churring was heard from a different direction. Slowly it got louder so that, if you cupped your ears, it was really quite loud and clear – more like an electronic noise than a natural one. Just as it was getting to be hard to see amongst the stubble and wrecked tree waste some people detected movement. Scopes were lined up and binoculars scanned the area. Suddenly a Nighjar flew briefly between two batches of scrub. It was a fleeting glance but enough to see the white tail and wing marks standing out really clearly in the twilight indicating that it was a male Nightjar. After that it was all eyes to work looking for more and some people saw some and others didn’t . Then the situation was reversed.
Eventually one landed on a tree stump on a surviving limb about 20 feet up the trunk. Nightjars do not perch at right angles to a branch like other birds but instead perch along the length of the branch parallel to it as a way of disguising their presence as a tree limb. Silhouetted against the remains of the light on a tree stump on its own and staying there for quite a time meant that scopes could be set up on it and all of us got the chance to see the absolutely classic outline of the unique Nightjar. This made everyone’s night complete ; we had heard a number of birds churring, we had seen a male flying with its tail and wing spots clearly showing; and we had seen a fantastic bird in profile. Everyone was happy ! We stayed for a bit more and caught the odd glimpse of more Nightjars but by 11pm we were all getting a little cold, it was getting fairly dark and we all felt we had seen what we came for.
As we returned down the hill, one of the chaps who had been strolling around the area said he had seen a couple more birds just around the corner so we were keeping our eyes peeled just in case when suddenly and very clearly I saw a Nightjar glide down from the top of a tree at the edge of the forest to our left, flying over the path we were on with its wings in the classic Nightjar V-shape and landing in the scrub to our right. Fantastic.
Feeling pretty happy with things we walked briskly back down the path back to the visitor centre. We did stop briefly at a muddy pond by the path to look at some Newts that had colonised the area – how do they get there ? were they always there somewhere ?. After that we continued downhill but we decided not to stop at the moth traps for a talk on the local insect life – even though it would have been interesting because these would have been the diet of the Nightjars – it was getting late and we were ready for bed – or at least a quick pint in the hotel bar. We parted company with our friends, Roger and Joan who had come over from their place in Shrewsbury to join us for the night, and half an hour later we were in the bar satisfied that our outing had been a complete success – and a Black Grouse thrown in !
Bird List
- Black Grouse 1
- Kestrel 1
- Lesser Redpoll 1
- Nightjar 3
- Tree Pipit 8
- Whinchat 1