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| Being filmed! |
This morning, I was up early at Strumpshaw as per usual for a Wednesday, however, I was joined by a film crew. If you remember from a few weeks ago, I was filmed for a short documentary video for YouTube about my autism and my love for wildlife. Well, there's a second, slightly longer video in the works. Last week, I had cameraman Sam Stronge and soundwoman Deborah Torr round my flat to film part of this second video. Today, they wanted to continue recording, this time from inside Fen Hide. I was a bit distracted by the wildlife while answering their questions, especially when a kingfisher made a brief appearance, but I think they were happy enough with my answers. I will of course show you what they manage to put together when the video is complete in the next week or two.
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| View from Fen Hide this morning |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Chinese Water Deer |
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| Black Swan |
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| Stonechat |
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| The Halloween Trail at Strumpshaw |
During filming at Fen Hide, as well as that kingfisher, there was also a Chinese water deer, 2 mute swans, Cobber the black swan, a grey heron and a distant stonechat posing on a bare branch of a bush. After filming was done, the duo departed and left me to do my shift at Reception Hide. It had been a quiet start to the morning, perfect for recording, but as the morning wore on, the reserve became bustling with families and children. The two week half term holiday is here and all the schools are closed. The staff here at Strumpshaw have come up with a special Halloween themed trail to provide the kids with something to do and to bring them much closer to nature. The trail is full of activities from building spider webs to spotting hanging pumpkins and bats hidden throughout the woodland trail. It has been quite successful so far.
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| One of the bats the kids have to find |
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| Robin sunbathing |
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| Great Tit |
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| Blue Tit |
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| Blackbird |
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| Red Admiral |
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| Common Darter |
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| Marsh Harrier |
With so many families visiting Strumpshaw, it has been rather busy inside the Reception Hide today. But as the people began to flood in, the action wildlife wise became quite subdued. Before everyone started arriving en mass, marsh harriers were chasing one another and the mobbing crows over the reed beds. One even surprised me as I scanned the broad by perching at the centre of the reedy islands where the ducks and kingfishers usually rest at. This was a surprise as I rarely see them at that spot before. It looked like a youngster due to it's darker plumage, though it is slowly developing into a lighter shade of brown to that of an adult. It sat at that spot for a few minutes before taking off to join in with the other harriers and harassing the crows. I also saw a kingfisher darting down the far right channel, a buzzard, a redwing and several gadwall, mallard and a few shovelers. Thankfully, I didn't have to count the ducks this week, but I can tell you that there weren't as many as there were last Wednesday.
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| Gadwall |
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| Female Gadwall |
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| Mallard |
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| Coot |
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| Shoveler |
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| Black-headed Gull |
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| Black-headed Gull, Mallard and Coot |
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| Mute Swan |
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