The Last Shift Of 2020

 Dec 30th  Strumpshaw Fen

Today is my last shift of 2020 and with the new Tier 4 system in place, I was unsure if I was allowed to return back to Strumpshaw at first. But after being told that it was my choice to make, I of course wanted to continue. When I arrived to the reserve this morning, though, I discovered that most of it was out of bounds. The hides were now closed once again and with high water levels, both routes along the river were extremely muddy. So my morning walk before my shift was very limited. All I could really do was walk to the river and back and around the woodland trail. There wasn't much to see either.

Receiving my silver puffin badge

When I returned for my shift at the Reception Hide, Ben showed up and gave me a large envelope. Inside was a certificate and two badges. One was the RSPB logo, the other was in a special box, a silver puffin. The silver puffin badge is only given to volunteers who serve 10 years for the RSPB. I was given this badge a little early than expected as next year marks my 10th anniversary at Strumpshaw. It was a special honour. A late Christmas present and a great way to end the year on.

It was a very cold day today and though the weather was good, there wasn't much to see outside of the Reception Hide. As it was very cold, I went for an extra walk in the woods to warm myself up a bit. At this point in the day, the bird life appeared to be more awake and very active. I stood by the Gnarly Oak for a few minutes and within those few minutes I was surrounded by hundreds of siskins, a few redwings, marsh tits, blue tits, great tits, long-tailed tits, jays and a treecreeper. I tried to spot a redpoll amongst the siskins, but I just couldn't see any at all. On the way back, I had some great views of bullfinches posing well and singing proudly. When I returned back into the hide, the view remained empty other than a flock of sleepy mallards, 3 mute swans, marsh harriers and a sparrowhawk making a quick flyby. Apparently though, while I was on my walk in the woods, I had missed a bittern. Typical! 

Sunrise over the river, Siskin and Bullfinch