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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Nigel Brown

Country diary: It’s hard to top a calling curlew

Curlew calling in flight with wings spread and distinctive curved bill
‘With trembling wing and voice, the curlew captured the essence of the marsh.’ Photograph: Rebecca Cole/Alamy

The RSPB’s Cors Ddyga reserve is truly bioluxuriant. I am lucky to live nearby and explore it often, but one particular recent visit left us thrilled by its riches, and also posed the tricky question: was there a highlight among so many unforgettable wildlife encounters?

One candidate must be our dusk arrival, by way of a deep-set old lane which drops with natural purpose to the broad marsh below. As we descended, moschatel gave way to meadowsweet. Emerging then from the shadowy track to the sunset brilliance of the reeds, we felt like players emerging from the tunnel into a stadium of light.

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