Moss Bros

Fenn’s and Whixall Moss straddle the English/Welsh border around five miles west of Whitchurch. The area was formerly plundered for its peat, but now under the ownership of English Nature, the bog is managed as a nature reserve.

Birding can be a frustrating business here; the unique environment holds little treasure, but the focus is very much on quality rather than quality.

Five minutes after setting-up my scope and I am on to a pair of Hobby in full-on acrobatic display flight – the first time I have ever seen this. Being in close proximity to one another, the size difference between the sexes is also clearly apparent. My encounter is all too brief though as circling higher and higher, they soon disappear in to the ether.

Up to five pairs now breed in the vicinity with even higher numbers congregating on migration. This is s bird that seems to be going from strength to strength in the UK, no doubt aided by the increasing number of dragonflies present in our cleaner waterways. This population increase mirrors the inexorable rise in the numbers of other raptors – fantastic!

Curlew - on the other hand - face tough times. Many of their traditional breeding sites have been drained and as a UK breeder they face an uncertain future. Thankfully, the moss is a stronghold for my favourite wading bird. I never tire of hearing their delicious calls, and their rising trill sounds just at home on a lowland bog as it does on a cold and dank winter morning on an estuary. Up to twenty birds are present today, only outnumbered by the Black-headed Gulls.

Also adding to soundtrack is a Cuckoo, several Reed Buntings and the quintessential song of British summertime: the Skylark.

Before hitting the road, I head for a non-descript ‘L-shaped’ pool in the middle of the moss. It is home to one of the UK rarest insects: the White-faced Darter. As the skies cloud-up, the critters seem unwilling to show themselves. Close inspection of the bank comes up trumps though as one is located perched on a stick. It won’t budge, so for the first time in my life, the scope comes out for an insect. And boy was it worth it – beauty and poise personified.

Until later.