A treat on the heath
Cannock Chase has the largest area of lowland heath in the Midlands. About 2,000 acres of it is now called the Cannock Chase Country Park, one of the largest country parks in Britain, and there is a visitor centre at Marquis Drive, from which walks leaflets and advice can be gleaned. The heath is very special for wildlife.
What looked like a fragment of shiny green paper blew into the air, it fluttered erratically, landed on the ground and subsequently disappeared. Only its shadow was significant enough to catch my eye. I ventured closer to see what it was. A tiny sliver of iridescent green, holding its wings tightly closed but twisting to capture the sun, this was a green hairstreak butterfly, the first of many hundreds that we saw over the next few days.
The orange flickers of small heath butterflies were easier to spot. Another green flutter on the sandy, pebbly path was a green tiger beetle, a hunter on the lookout for prey and avoiding my tread. My footsteps had also caused a common lizard to run for safety; all I heard was a rustle in the grass as its tail disappeared.
A small bird sang its heart out whilst parascending through the air on flickering wings, its tail held aloft like that of a wren. It landed in a mature birch tree whose verdant, fresh foliage cascaded like rain from featherweight boughs. This was a tree pipit, inconspicuous in appearance but a delight nonetheless. The songs of other birds filled the air with skylarks, willow warblers, whitethroats and cuckoos in every direction.
Many heathland birds nest on the ground and, despite the multitude of paths, there is plenty of space for them. Ground cover is provided by heather and a variety of berrybearing shrubs.
There are some special birds found here and these take a bit more dedication to spot. So, at 9.15pm I set off on foot down the track from Rifle Range Corner in the direction of Katyn Memorial. At 9.40pm I heard a high-pitched ‘coo-wick’ call. This is the contact call often made by a male to a female nightjar to signal that he is ready to take over incubation duties. Before long the nightjars were churring, a rather mechanical sound with two tones.
I also saw woodcocks in flight. Making a strange selection of whistles and grunts, these birds were ‘roding’, a term given to their display flight.
As if all this wasn’t enough, the highlight was still to come because low over the open heathland I saw a long-eared owl hunting. These are regularly spotted in this area but such a rare delight. I have seen only a handful of long-eared owls in my life.
What a treat! And on the way back to the ’van I was buzzed by bats and glimpsed a fallow deer.