A lovely walk in the countryside... Today, Triska took a walk down through Polany towards Krempna and David, Neil and I headed off the other way towards Olchoviec. It was a nice walk with plenty of birds and butterflies, including red-backed shrikes, stonechats, yellowhammers, white and grey wagtails and the occasional lesser spotted eagle and buzzard. We diverted to visit the old Lemko house and Neil was dressed up in traditional Lemko clothes, including a jacket with a hidden pocket for a bottle. After leaving the lovely people who showed us the old house, complete with new, stepped, thatched roof, we were treated to the sight of a beautiful male black redstart on the fence.We saw several more, as well as a brief glimpse of another lesser spotted eagle, which flew up from by the track in front of us (David and I). Neil had a better view, as he’d dropped back to ‘adjust his equipment’. At the church, we had a good view of a great spotted woodpecker, as well as a couple of young black redstarts on the stone bridge and several yellowhammers. Heading back along the road towards home, we diverted across a field to look for sand lizards but didn’t find any. We did find another beaver pool, which was nice. The walk back produced more of the same birds and then it was home to get ready for dinner. After dinner, I went up to Salamandra with Agnieszka, our host, to bring the Freelander back so we could go on an evening expedition to Czehania, another cleared village. Back through Krempna, Kotan and past Nieznajowa, through Grab and then left at Ozenna brought us to the old road back to Krempna, which we went up. We saw another lesser spotted eagle in the field and then entered the forest and continued to the viewpoint near the highest point of the road. The plan was to scan the valley below with the thermal imager for deer and any other species that were about, perhaps even wolves! We did see some wildlife, though sadly not wolves. There were a few roe deer, some hares and a vixen with cub and then we heard a weird call up the road behind us: a croaky sort of noise. I was hoping we’d hear it again and that we’d get to see the bird itself, but it didn’t happen and I forgot to tell our guests what it was. It was a woodcock, roding. Shortly after, we heard a distant corncrake in the valley below and then our full attention was focussed, literally, on one calling from the meadow behind us. It was loud and we estimated it to be maybe 10m away. We trained the thermal imager on the area and saw nothing. We recorded its call and played it back, but saw nothing. In the end, as we were about to head home, I decided to head into the field with my torch and see if I could find it. I waded through long vegetation for about 50-60m, with the call getting louder and louder. Occasionally, the calls would stop and so would I. Eventually, I was within about 5m of it, shining the torch at it, but still couldn’t see it. The sound was now deafening and I wished I hadn’t left the thermal imager in the car - this was harder than I’d anticipated. Not wanting to give up, I retraced my steps to the car and retrieved the thermal camera, then headed back into the field. I got to within about 4m before I could finally see it with the thermal imager and I started to record what I was seeing. I could see its beak opening and closing as the loud call assaulted my ears and I stood as still as I could, trying not to shake the camera or spook the bird. I edged closer, until I was within 3m of it, at which point it went quiet and crouched down under the grasses and wildflowers. I edged closer still, until I was too close to focus the camera. Turning off the thermal camera, I switched my torch on and peered into the grasses, but I couldn’t see it. Eventually, I spotted it, or at least part of its head. I could see its eye,glinting in the torch light as it watched me and then I retreated, retracing my steps to the car where Neil and Triska were patiently waiting. An amazing experience and one that I hope to share with you when I get home and download the video from the thermal camera. We headed home, spotting a hedgehog (the first I’ve seen for decades) and a couple of red deer along the road, before arriving back at the Old School around midnight. David had chosen to stay behind to set his trail camera on the beaver dam, so I didn’t see him until the morning. After dropping Neil and Triska off, I had to take the car back to Salamandra and then walk back a couple of miles in the dark, just missing the rain. I finally got to bed around 1.30am. Warm Regards, Martin.