A Christmas morning walk along the stream in the grounds of Plas Penglais, Aberystwyth, has solved the mystery of the bird which has flown off from the stream whenever I walked along the public footpath each day for the past four days. In the dim light of late afternoon, it could have been a snipe or jack snipe. This morning, it flew off as usual, but I found it again, under a tree in the grounds, and at last got a photo.
Yes, it was a woodcock.
That would explain why I didn't see any pale stripes on its wings as it flew off
from the stream.
Laurie Wright