Nov 20th Strumpshaw Fen

Its getting colder. The sky is dark, dull and grey. There's a taste and smell of car exhaust pollution trapped in the early morning air as I made my way to Strumpshaw today, but once I arrived, the air was a little cleaner. I was greeted by the hungry male pheasant again, which followed me from the pond dipping pond to the Gnarly Oak as he recognizes me as the person who will later serve him food. Eventually, he realises that I had no food on me and gave up, leaving me to walk to the Fen Hide alone, spooking a muntjac deer in the process.

Chinese Water Deer

Fen Hide was a bit too quiet for my liking, with just a couple of Chinese water deer and a heron to be seen. I moved on to the river and sat on a bench adjacent to some apple trees where a flock of around 10-20 fieldfares feeding on the apples while remaining hidden from view. Their rattling chuckled calls were like they were mocking me as I was unable to photograph them. With my shift looming, I admitted defeat and left the bench. However, when I turned to walk back down the Sandy Wall, I noticed that there was something standing in the way. It was a Chinese water deer and it was staring right at me. Several meters of the path separated between us. Neither of us looked as if we were going to budge. For about a minute or two, we were stuck in an epic staring contest. Eventually, the deer gave in and retreated, not in a dash, but in a casual manner into the reeds.

Bahama Pintail Hybrid

When I returned to do the feeders and the hungry pheasant that followed me earlier was pleased. He ran towards me before I entered the gate leading into the courtyard to fetch the bird food. I came back to find him still waiting at the gate like some dog eagerly awaiting its owner. He got stuck into the birdseed while it was still in the pouring containers as I turned my back to unhook the feeders to fill them up. He must have been really hungry! My shift, in comparison, was a bit uneventful with mainly just mallards, a few gadwall, teal, coot, marsh harriers and a Bahama pintail hybrid to look at. At least it brightened up to become a nice day after that gloomy start.