Oct 23rd Strumpshaw Fen

Foggy scenes at Strumpshaw

Thick fog blanketed over Strumpshaw this morning. With the days being a lot shorter now, the sun was still rising when I arrived at the reserve. There was a spooky sense of feeling about the place, a feeling quite relevant with Halloween just a week away. There were even spider webs bejewelled in dew decorating everything. It wasn't to last, though, as from inside Fen Hide I was watching 4-6 Chinese water deer chase one another in the dense grey before the sun began to make an impact and forced the fog to disperse. From its demise, I was able to see more things including stonechats and water pipits. There was even a surprising appearance of two green sandpipers making a short circling flight around the front of the hide.

Chinese Water Deer 

After a peaceful start to the morning at Fen Hide, I returned to Reception Hide to utter chaos. It is half term and schools are closed, that is except for one. You see, Strumpshaw has turned into a makeshift school for wizards as there were activities for children to do such as wand making set throughout the woodland trail. What ensued was a hide full of excited children dressed in various costumes and the reserve became a busy, noisy place. The car park and overflow car park were quickly full. There was even a bit of drama when someone managed to get their car stuck in the mud and our wardens formed a rescue team to get it out!

Bearded Tit

On the bird front, it was fairly quiet at Reception Hide. However, there was one highlight when a couple of bearded tits showed themselves on the reeds to my left close to the hide. I also saw a sparrowhawk, marsh harriers and buzzards as well as the usual duck species.