30 Days Wild: Day 10 - Along for the rode

Tonight we've been on the hunt for woodcock and nightjar which involves a bit of a twist on the standard breeding bird survey, in that it's done at dusk rather than dawn.

No nightjar tonight; the habitat we were surveying is good in places but not extensive. A few woodcock "roding" towards the end of the survey though.

"Roding" basically describes the activity of the male woodcock patrolling along woodland edges and over scrubby areas where there may be female woodcock looking to mate. They perform distinctive squeaking and grunting calls as they do it in an effort to woo the ladies.

Maria scans the treeline for woodcock - listening out for their distinctive calls

Again no photo of the birds in question - woodcock are really tricky to photograph in flight, especially on a phone!

Anyway, must dash off, we'll be back up in a few hours to go and do a normal breeding bird survey at dawn.