THERE have been two occasions this week which have served as an excellent reminder of why I chose a career in countryside management in the first place.

Looking back to my childhood, one of the things I loved about the natural world is that there is always something to take your breath away. I would often watch the David Attenborough programmes on TV, and was always left a little disappointed that the wildlife on our doorstep was ignored in favour of that of the tropics. I would find nothing better than exploring local woodland, pond dipping or just taking in the scenery on family walks.

As you get a bit older it's difficult sometimes to find time to simply stop and take in your surrounding, so more often than not, those awe-inspiring moments are lost. One aspect of my job which I find rewarding is when I get the opportunity to inspire local people about wildlife.

It was during an activity for local children that the first of these inspirational moments occurred. We had just run several activities on Burlish Top Local Nature Reserve with a group and walked down to the River Severn at Blackstone to begin a canoe trip to Stourport. We all clambered into our canoes and, after the splashing subsided, we had a chance to look around and talk to them about the wildlife.

The river was calm, allowing us to catch glimpses of mayflies sitting on top of the surface, before setting off into the air. At that point, just as we watched one take flight, a large group of sand martins descended upon us, skimming the water and collecting the mayflies both off the water and in flight. It was a truly spectacular sight. Sand martins, are by no means the most attractive of birds, but their aerial display was a privilege to watch.

The Sand martin is the smallest of the European hirundines (martins and swallows), fairly drab brown in colour, but with a pale chest and forked tail. While fairly common, their numbers have crashed over recent years due to severe droughts in their African wintering ground. This was a trip I would never have thought of doing, but would highly recommend it to anyone who gets the chance.

Co-incidentally, it was another member of the hirundines that caught my eye this week. Again on Burlish Top, I was walking some of the less well used areas, wondering as to the best approach to take with an invasive alien plant species that was moving into the site.

While I stood pondering this, I heard a loud screaming from above. I was stood in a small clearing, surrounded by young woodland. In the sky above, there was the most jaw-dropping display of flight I had seen in a long while. It had been a day of warm weather with occasional showers, perfect for encouraging emerging midges and mosquitoes. A group of swifts had cottoned onto this fact and had chosen the area above our heads to have a feast. The way they swoop to and fro is unbelievable. Their forked tails clearly visible, and a little larger than the sand martins I had witnessed previously.

Their wings are also much more scythe-like than that of the martins, Swifts too, are brown in colour, but looking up at them against the blue sky they looked completely black. Unfortunately, I had to move on fairly quickly, but it had been wonderful, even if just for a few minutes, to be able to stop and watch one of the wonders of our natural world.