On Friday I had asked @987jonty about where he saw his nightingales, and before he could answer, @Stormvogel99 suggested Crookham Common. I'd not quite registered the name when @old_caley told me that is where he had gone for his record this spring - I'd not heard of it before but I checked it out and it is only an hour away, near Newbury and Greenham Common. @987jonty suggested his were further away at Thrapston, and I also saw that two males were singing at Rutland Water. I opted for Crookham.
I rose early and was onsite by 8.30am. I took a little minute to locate the car park as I turned right instead of left at the previous junction. This was a largely wooded area.
I listened for calls but to start with there was no nightingale. A cuckoo called from across the road. I eventually headed right, looking at the road. Within 20m I heard a nightingale call and immediately saw two fly into the undergrowth and got my first (and best) photo. I followed the birds along the path as they went into deeper undergrowth. I had a few goes at picking them out as they sang from there.
I decided to have a look at the common as I was there. Lots of brambles, gorse and not surprisingly stonechat (male, female and some juvenile). I started out and came across several linnet, lesser and common whitethroat, chiffchaff, willow warbler and several tit species.
On the return leg I had more views of stonechat and a red kite circling above the small pools of water. I also heard deer in the bushes, grunting away. As I walked on the path, alongside the road, I saw signs warning of deer - accurate then.
I should explore the area further and will definitely have another visit here.
Sightings included: black-headed gull, blackbird, blackcap, blue tit, buzzard, canada goose, carrion crow, chiffchaff, coot, cormorant, dunnock, goldfinch, jackdaw, lapwing, lesser whitethroat, linnet, long-tailed tit, magpie, mallard, nightingale, red kite, robin, stonechat, swift, whitethroat and woodpigeon.
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