Nov 13th Strumpshaw Fen

It is cold, but still a nice day. It was also a bit of a quiet day as there weren't an awful lot to see at Strumpshaw today. There were only a Chinese water deer, a heron, a couple of marsh harriers and the briefest view of a bearded tit from Fen Hide this morning. So I moved on towards the river and decided to sit on a bench and waited to see what turned up to feast on the apples on the ground and on the trees. After a few minutes, I had a few fieldfares, a reed bunting and some bullfinches make an appearance, but not really settling for long. From Reception Hide, there were almost 80 greylags, more marsh harriers, cormorants, mute swans, mallards, gadwall, teal, a couple of shovelers and the odd bearded tit.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Meanwhile, outside at the feeder area, the persistent pheasant was back pleased to see me arrive with the bird seed in hand as it ran up towards me. I placed plenty of seed not only in the feeders, but also in the cracks and holes of the stumps nearby. The birds seem to prefer the easier access and it attracted more than just the usual blue, great and marsh tits as the local jays and squirrels were having a field day. The peanuts I left in the stump were pretty much cleared out two hours later. All this food even attracted the attention of a great spotted woodpecker that came in and crept around the side of a tree but never actually came down while I was watching.