It’s a slow stroll home for me down in to the valley after a few drinks in Lanjaron. Not the most likely time to be thinking about birdwatching…it’s gone midnight, and apart from the distant barking of dogs the track home is usually pretty quiet. Not tonight however…because the valley floor was ringing out with the sweet, liquid song of the Nightingale.
I heard my first of the year only yesterday, and the warbles, trills and rich sequences of sweet, mellow notes are undoubtedly a beautiful new addition to the birdsong in the garden…but Nightingales really only truly perform after dark.
Through the orchards and olive groves, down to the thickets and stands of trees along the river, male Nightingales were singing their hearts out. First one, then a second and a third…I reached double figures by the time I reached the house. Certainly, one of the most beautiful sounds of early summer you could hope to hear down here in the Alpujarras…I say “hear”, because catching just a glimpse of one of these talented songsters is an entirely different matter!
The familiar, thrush-like profile and the warm, brown back and chestnut tail can make identification a fairly straightforward affair. But the bird’s habits however can make getting clear views a real challenge…they can be frustratingly secretive. The Nightingale spends much of its time skulking in deep cover, hidden in foliage…a male can be singing loudly from a bush only yards away yet remain maddeningly invisible. An interesting photographic challenge to say the least!
Watch this space as we continue to report on all the new arrivals, and keep you up to date with all the birdwatching news…
