With it being such a good weather forecast for today, dry, bright and light wind, I decided to head to Catherton Common. The common is now owned and managed by the Shropshire Wildlife Trust, and a lot of conservation work has taken place under their tenure.
I parked at Catherton Gate and took the track, which was very muddy, down towards Cramer Gutter, which is also managed by Shropshire Wildlife Trust.
A flock of about ten meadow pipits flew over, in their characteristic jumpy flight, and landed on a cleared area of heather, which is crossed leaved heather here.
I was startled by a green woodpecker which was calling loudly with its pipping, piercing call, which ended in its distinctive laughing call. A bit further down a saw a great spotted woodpecker fly across my path in an undulated flight pattern which is so reminiscent of this species. When I got to Cramer Gutter a woodpecker was drumming from one of the trees along the brook. It was a muffled drumming sound, not like great spotted woodpecker's loud knocking. I tried my hardest to see the bird, hoping it was a lesser spotted woodpecker (a major rarity nowadays) but failed to connect with it. If I had been lucky that would have completed the trio of British woodpeckers!
I had a look around Cramer but not much was doing except a lone highland cattle grazing.
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| One of the muddy tracks by Cramer Gutter |
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| View of Catherton from Cramer Gutter |
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| Brooke at Cramer Gutter |
I walked back to Catherton Gate and decided to drive to the western end of Catherton Common.
There is a road that goes to Cleeton St. Mary and on the right is an area known as Lubberland. I parked up and scanned the gorse (western gorse) for any signs of bird life. I was soon rewarded with a pair of stonechats perched up on the gorse in their characteristic manner.
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| Lubberland with sheep in foreground |
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| Titterstone from Catherton Common |
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