Aberaeron, Ceredigion The route was almost deserted, so the sensation of being watched was unexpected

Even on the open slopes above the cliff, the air was hot and humid, making the steeper sections of the coast path seem more of a trudge than usual. South of Aberaeron, in west Wales, the route was almost deserted – so the sensation of being watched was unexpected.

As I struggled past a tangled mass of gorse, I realised that I was being observed by a stonechat perched on a bracken frond. My plodding approach hadn’t alarmed him enough to make him retreat and as I returned his gaze I realised that at least three others, perhaps a family, were nearby. They began to exchange the sharply characteristic calls that sound uncannily like two pebbles being tapped together, and which give the species its name.

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Source: Guardian Environment