The Ashford Oval may be best known as a place for cricket, but on Saturday morning the focus shifted from wickets to wildlife. Almost 60 birders arrived, keen to discover what birds the grounds had to offer besides the usual ducks on the score board! We split into six groups to reduce the disruption that a large group would cause. Smaller groups also make less noise, which is especially important for forest birding where sounds are often the best way to find birds.

Fortunately, Ashford has several habitats concentrated in the bottom of the valley, including forests, dams, grasslands and a bank of proteas. This allowed each of the groups to head off in a different direction and take a gentle amble through each of the areas.

From the clubhouse, a river flows slowly down the valley, with a thin sliver of forest on either side of it. Despite the howling wind, the forest was sheltered and there were plenty of birds to be found. Of special interest were the Olive Woodpecker, Green Wood-hoopoe, Olive Bushshrike and Terrestrial Brownbul.

Moving down to the main dam, a couple of White-backed Ducks were the main highlight, although they frequently proved difficult to spot as they dived below the surface to feed. Careful scanning of the reeds also revealed a stunning Malachite Kingfisher. A Red-knobbed Coot could be seen nesting in the middle of the dam, giving an excellent opportunity to examine the architecture of its nest.

Exhilarated but slightly cold and wind-swept, we returned to the clubhouse, grateful for the warm coffee and slices of delicious cake waiting for us. Thank you so much to Tyrone and Kath Yates who not only gave us access to the property but also made the delicious cakes.