Astonishingly there were 14 of us on the annual August evening walk. Along Stonepit Lane we stopped to look across the fields towards the monastery, which probably had breeding Peregrines this year, and features in Peter James newest book.
By the river I set up my ‘scope to look at the clear bright moon – eliciting a “Wow” from Bella (Louise’s 11 year old daughter) – the craters looked fabulous, and we could just about see Jupiter (?) with 2 of its moons. Disappointingly though not a single Barn Owl was seen out hunting, the first time ever for one of these walks. We did hear a Tawny hooting though.
Just before Betley Bridge the first Glow Worm of the evening in the grass was spotted – Louise & Bella both saw it first!! At the bridge Louise finally got to grips with her state-of-the-art bat detector, and was able to reveal that somewhere nearby were Common and Soprano Pipistrelles. Three more Glow Worms were spotted on the way back, and a couple of people managed to see brief streaks of Perseid meteors, but by then the sky was more hazy and stars partially obscured. There’s still a chance of seeing them until the end of August, and the best time is after midnight, when the sky is clear, so worth wandering outside if suffering from insomnia for the next week or so!
Thanks to all for coming and for the company.