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| The Moon |
The moon was bright and almost full high in the early morning sky as I arrived to Strumpshaw. Frosty scenes awaited me here today. The ice glistened in the moonlight as the twilight glow became the light of a new day. Bullfinches were singing in the dark atop of a bush beside me as I made my way for my walk. Scenes from both the Fen and Reception hides were exactly the same. The broads and pools of the reserve was frozen over into sheets of ice. Apart from one section of the broad outside Reception Hide and the river, there were very few places that were completely ice-free.
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| Moon and Ice |
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| Frosty Meadow Trail |
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| Icy view at the Fen Hide |
As I waited for the light to brighten up, I watched a pair of sleepy swans unsure if they were aware of the ice that had surrounded them in all directions. Chinese water deer were nibbling on the reedy stubble as usual, though it must be like us eating frozen vegetables straight from the freezer. Brrr! I was barely inside Fen Hide for more than 30 minutes and I was already starting to feel the cold's grip getting tighter on me. I had to move on. I walked down to the pump house and through the woods. A large flock of siskins twitter in the tallest of group of trees, filling every branch. A pair of them pursued one another in a fierce chase, whooshing passed me, skimming narrowly past my head. The drumming of woodpeckers filled the air and rivals replied with trees rapping with the sound of their fierce hammering more intense than the last outburst. A battle of the drummers was forming around me.
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| Chinese Water Deer |
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| Mute Swans |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| The Pump House |
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| Siskin |
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| Catkins |
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| Scarlet Elfcaps |
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| Slime Mould? |
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| Snowdrops |
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| Icy view at Reception Hide |
With all this ice, the ducks were hanging out at the ice-free zone at the centre of the broad outside the Reception Hide. You might be thinking that all I was going to see were the same ol' ducks and coots with the odd swan and the marsh harriers swooping over them all day? Well, for the most part the answer is yes (though the harriers were quite entertaining and provided nice close views), but there were a couple of things of interest to talk about, too. The first being a bittern that emerged from the nearest reed bed to us on the right channel of the broad, flying over the ducks at their refuge pool, then circling behind the reedy islands before plunging down into the reeds on the far left of the reserve. Secondly, there was a snipe that made a short stop over in the fresh cut area left to the hide until it eventually took off again. So, in short, it was a good day. A bit cold, but good.
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| The only ice-free zone for the ducks to go |
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| Marsh Harrier harassing the ducks! |
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| Teal and Shoveler |
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| Mallard |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Snipe |
As I waited for the light to brighten up, I watched a pair of sleepy swans unsure if they were aware of the ice that had surrounded them in all directions. Chinese water deer were nibbling on the reedy stubble as usual, though it must be like us eating frozen vegetables straight from the freezer. Brrr! I was barely inside Fen Hide for more than 30 minutes and I was already starting to feel the cold's grip getting tighter on me. I had to move on. I walked down to the pump house and through the woods. A large flock of siskins twitter in the tallest of group of trees, filling every branch. A pair of them pursued one another in a fierce chase, whooshing passed me, skimming narrowly past my head. The drumming of woodpeckers filled the air and rivals replied with trees rapping with the sound of their fierce hammering more intense than the last outburst. A battle of the drummers was forming around me. 
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