Apologies for the worst picture ever posted on this blog but it was the best I could do in the gloom this morning and is mean't to give a hint of the excitement I felt whilst watching my longest ever drumming flight for 30 minutes. BWP quotes 65 minutes as longest but I 'm happy with half that and intrigued to know what this says about the current breeding situation. A chap I met on the boardwalk yesterday said he'd seen chippering and fluttering up and down in the cotton grass which can mean courtship or aggression and its not as unusual as I thought to have drumming and the roller-coaster display flight this time in the breeding season. I'll just have to keep braving the midges at 7am to hear eventually,with luck, the adult/chick calls though I've only heard them once when Tony Cross casually mentioned their presence whilst sitting in a tree ringing some barn owls.
If you haven't seen snipe display its worth getting down on the bog, early is best but it does occur during the day and evenings are likely to be a bit of a trial with midges. There is also a fantastic display of bog cotton at the moment, the first large heaths are on the wing and the pips and skylarks are a joy.
