Nov 28th Strumpshaw Fen

A wet and windy day at Strumpshaw today

The sun did not rise as I made my way to Strumpshaw. It simply just went from darkness to gloomy grey, accompanied by a continuous curtain of water droplets that seemed to increase in volume and density by every passing minute. I was walking in the rain this morning. I was soaked! Making my way to Fen Hide, scaring eight pheasants along the way and making me jump in the process, the only thing that was on my mind was dry clothing. During my time inside the hide, the rain died down, but was then soon replaced by blustery winds that howled against the hide's wooden structure. I was feeling a little drier and I was kept busy watching two Chinese water deer, a family of mute swans, marsh harriers and several snipe braving the gusty conditions circling above me. They weren't the only ones as a female sparrowhawk and a large flock of fieldfare and redwings flew passed me as soon as I exited the hide.

Chinese Water Deer

Pheasant

Marsh Harrier

Mute Swan

Greylags

When I thought I was free of the rain, another shower appeared. In fact, it was like the rain and the wind formed a tag team and were taking it in turns all day. One minute, rain. Then it was wind. Rain. Wind. Rain. Wind... Sometimes it was both at the same time! It was proving to be another uneventful Wednesday at Strumpshaw ruined by the weather watching the ducks. Its days like this that I have to come up with interesting facts to make these birds more interesting than just seeing them do their usual thing. I know you, dear reader, are probably sick of me showing you the same old photos of them and what they were doing while I was watching them. So here's a few things a novice bird watcher might not know...

Coot

Teal

Teal are also known as cricket teal. This is because of the cricket-like chirped whistled calls that they make. They are also often known as spring teal, because of their ability to launch themselves out of the water straight upwards instead of doing a run up like other duck species.

Shovelers

Unlike other dabbling ducks that bob their heads under to grab something out of the water, shovelers feed in a very different way. They suck up the water and filter it through their uniquely shaped bill. Powered by the tongue, it pretty much acts like a pump that sucks the water in. The tongue can piston back and forth more than 10 times a second. Food particles get trapped in the bristles of the tongue and it gets carried to the back of the mouth to be swallowed. It is such an effective feeding method that it apparently is thought that a shoveler can suck up around 10 per cent of its body weight a day!

Gadwall

Gadwall are scarce breeders in the UK. It is thought that to boost their numbers, many of them were introduced into East Anglia. Though their numbers have increased in more recent years, they still aren't that productive in breeding and remain on the BTO's Amber list of British breeding birds.

Mallards

And finally, mallards are the most abundant duck species in the world. You can find them throughout the Northern Hemisphere from North America to Asia. In the wild, a mallard can live up to between 5-10 years, but the oldest known individual recorded was 27 years old!

Mallard hybrid