Nov 16th Strumpshaw Fen

Robin

Compared to last week at Strumpshaw, it was a rather pleasant morning. No rain, just a nice mildly warm day. However, there's still no sign of any weasels to complete my Strumpshaw 40 challenge. So after watching 'Weasel Lane' for a pointless half hour, I went to Fen Hide to see what was about. From the hide, I managed to spot some common snipe hiding in the grass, a couple of marsh harriers soaring over the reed beds, a Chinese water deer feeding out in the open and there was also a stonechat perching on the dead tree and reed stems at the far side of the pool.

Long-tailed Tit

Stonechat



Chinese Water Deer

Snipe

Blackbird



Off on a guided walk!

I wasn't at the Reception Hide much today. This was because I was asked to help out with a guided walk around the reserve this morning. There wasn't a warden available to help point out the birds to the group, so I had to fill in as the bird expert for this particular walk. I shared my knowledge on the wildlife we encountered along the way, which went down a treat amongst the group, while our leader took us to the Fen Hide and Tower Hide. Most of the people in the group were amateur birdwatchers and were pleased when showed them the snipe, the marsh harriers, the Chinese water deer and a heron from Fen Hide and a flock of teal flying around in front of Tower Hide. It was a case of few birds and lots of mud today as it was pretty quiet on the bird front and it was rather muddy walking along the river, but it seemed everyone enjoyed themselves. And for those who remained when we arrived at Reception Hide were treated to a very brief glimpse of a bittern flying behind the reedy islands.

Cobber the Black Swan

Mute Swans

Shoveler

Mallard

Snipe

Some kind of Bonnet fungi

Teal

Greylag

Carrion Crow