Betrayed by a gentle purring

Woods Mill, West Sussex The bird is somewhere in the tall tree above me. I stand up and walk around the path for a better view of the upper branches

The children stomp across the non-slip chicken wire on the wooden bridge, laughing and clutching their pads and pencils. I follow the path that winds around the Sussex Wildlife Trust reserve, past reeds and meadow flowers, and find a secluded bench by the pond, shaded beneath the trees from the harsh afternoon sun.

I close my eyes and listen to each sound: the mew of a distant buzzard, a chiffchaff singing, a tuneful garden warbler in a nearby bush, and the shrieks of the adult coot calling to its softly whistling chicks.