Today, we completed one of several walks around Clumber Park, The Bluebell Woods of Clumber.
Our journey began walking through Hardwick Village until we reached a war memorial. Here, we entered a woodland of old oaks. As we neared the younger wood, the path was forged by bluebells. Leaving the woodland behind, we followed a path through a field. Here, we spotted a paw print that may have been from a fox or dog. The difference is hard to tell, but it appeared to be fox. This is because the front and back pads didn’t seem to be in line. Soon, we followed a farm track heading towards a woodland.
The next section of our walk was muddier than the rest, but we managed to avoid nearly all of it because we recognised a dark-green rush. This type only grows in boggy areas. We spent a while trekking through woodland until we reached another field. Silence and respect were the key to passing through the field so the inhabitants, cattle, were not startled. We kept a good distance and the cattle weren’t bothered. After passing through ‘double trouble’, two wooden gates, we continued our walk towards the lake.
The third and final section of our walk went by the lake. We saw many birds: three mallard ducks (two males and a female) and a crow. However, the highlight of the trip was seeing a family of coots: a male and female each feeding a young chick. We almost walked passed it, but I glimpsed something that looked like a nest. While taking a photo, I noticed the female coot’s wing looked like it was folded in an unusual shape. I originally thought this was because the male and female were in the nest together. However, Mum noticed a male coming to the nest, carrying food. Then, the source of the weird shape showed itself. Two coot chicks showed their faces. One stayed to be fed by the female; the other swam over to the male for feeding.
I felt very nervous going through the field with cattle, but got more comfortable when a member of the herd saw us and went back to eating. However, this did not mean I could be complacent. I feel very lucky to have seen the coot chicks: if we had come any earlier, we would probably have missed them.
