A lovely morning and fifteen budding ornithologists were up with the lark (well, about 6 am!) to meet for this year’s birdsong walk with Steve Joul.
After a brief introduction, Steve led us from the Village Green carpark onto Crag Lane and then into Alwoodley Plantation, which at some time in the past was planted with commercially grown trees like Scots pine.
En route, Steve spotted a geometric caterpillar, commonly known as an inchworm, on the leaf of a tree. Steve explained that these caterpillars are very well camouflaged as twigs or part of a plant. There are three hundred species of geometric caterpillars in the UK and my Apple computer has identified this one as the caterpillar of the Mottled Umber moth. They are called geometric (which means “earth measuring”) because they only have legs at the front and back of their body, which means that their body loops up when moving as if measuring what they are on. You may have heard Danny Kaye singing “Inchworm, inchworm, measuring the marigolds” in the film Hans Christian Anderson.
Steve led us up through the plantation to the farmer’s field at the top where we were fortunate to see a buzzard take off from the ground.
We then made our way westwards through the beech wood to Stair Foot Lane. We crossed Stair Foot Lane and made our way through the bike tracks before returning to the Village Green car park. In the midst of the bike tracks we found a male mallard!
It was a fantastic morning. As always, Steve was a great educator; the weather was lovely; the woods were in beautiful form, and we spotted or heard twenty six species of bird. There is a list in alphabetical order below and for a few I have attached links to the RSPB Bird Guide to whet your appetite.
- Blackbird
- Blackcap – like a speeded up blackbird
- Blue Tit
- Bullfinch
- Buzzard
- Carrion Crow
- Chaffinch – a fast bowler running up to the crease and bowling the ball
- Chiffchaff
- Dunnock
- Goldcrest
- Great tit
- Heron
- Jackdaw
- Jay
- Magpie
- Mallard
- Nuthatch
- Pied Wagtail
- Red Kite
- Robin
- Song Thrush
- Sparrowhawk
- Swift
- Treecreeper
- Wood Pigeon
- Wren – recognisable by the trill in the middle of its song
About Friends of Adel Woods
We hope that you have enjoyed reading about our activities and would be delighted if you would like to join us. The mental and physical health benefits of getting out in the countryside and social contact are well-known.
Friends of Adel Woods were formed in 2009 to help maintain Adel Woods and encourage people to enjoy them. We meet one weekend morning a month to carry out various jobs or ”work parties”, and we also put on educational events such as bat walks, fungal forays and birdsong walks. Our next birdsong walk is on the 17th May 2026 – and you can find details on our home page
We are a very friendly group and welcome new members who want to help preserve our special woods, enjoy fresh air, exercise in the woods, and make new friends.
If you would like to take part in our activities, keep an eye on our Home Page. You don’t need to book to come along to one of our work “parties”: just come along!
If you would like to join our email mailing list, please get in touch by leaving a comment on this website – you should be able to see a comment box at the bottom of this page.
Friends of Adel Woods 