YORKSHIRE TRANQUILITY

Went out looking for Nightjars tonight. We didn?t see any. We also did not see the resident Long-eared Owls, though did stop and watch a Short-eared Owl on the way to Timble, the non-Nightjar venue. I knew we had to wait until dusk for the chance of a Nightjar, but by then G had wandered off along the track round too many corners for me to keep sight of him. The dusk came; the biting insects came. The Nightjar did not. Eventually, fearing I would be walking back to the car in pitch darkness, I retraced my steps down the track. At one point I turned to look back and saw a flash of light. It was G. He had a bloody torch! I didn?t have a torch! He hadn?t mentioned that we would be out so long, in the woods, and away from habitation and the car so late, or to take a torch!

I am now nursing a large bite on my cheek bone (facial, I mislaid the lower ones many years ago), from a Mega Yorkshire Insect, and several extremely annoying small ones on my wrists. I was wearing my midge hood but fine mesh is not conducive to peering through binoculars for nonexistent birds.

This is the only photograph I managed to take, in half decent light before we set off up the track. I did play about with the camera later, just to keep my spirits up really while I was abandoned, torchless, in the middle of nowhere. But although the results were interesting, I can see that work is needed if I try to repeat the experiment. And I won't be doing that unless I?ve got the bloody torch!