Sculthorpe Moor - 15th November
Apologies for not writing for over a month! November has been a busy one, but we did manage a couple of wildlife watching sessions. We have finally made it back to Sculthorpe Moor; this small site run by the Hawk and Owl Trust really is a hidden treasure. We haven't been here since spring and this return visit certainly wasn't a disappointment. The winds we have had throughout November made the trees talk and sing and with it, the bird life joined in.
On first entering the reserve, there is a viewing panel overlooking a range of birdfeeders. They were alive with green finches, chaffinches, great tits, blue tits, coal and marsh tits, a nuthatch and some beautiful bramblings on the feeders and on the floor below.
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Walking around the reserve, it wasn't just the bird hides that yeilded fantastic views of wildlife. On niger seed feeders suspended from trees were dozens of gold finches in dazzling colours. In trees above were mixed flocks of siskins tweezering out seeds and chattering away to each other with goldfinches trying to join in the conversation. There seemed to be long tailed tits everywhere, one of my favourite bird species, always sociable and 'friendly' in their large gangs, filling the air with their 'see-see-see's.
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The new elevated hide in the reserve gave beautiful close up views of these rosey-pink socialites and a tree creeper amid their chattering and the flocks of gold finches. We also had long distance views of gliding marsh harriers quartering the reed beds below. At the Fen hide we found a little grebe nestled among a quartet of mallards. A male bullfinch took over one of the feeders and bullied other birds away, claiming the seeds for himself.
Another wonderful visit to this reserve. Hopefully we'll not have to wait another 6 months before we visit again!
