RSPB: Strumpshaw Fen - NR134HS (postcode)

Close up Pheasant picture with my phone!

What an amazing Easter Day! My family is away, so this was sort of a lonely day, but I had a great plan.  Went to church with all my hiking gear ready to go (including a packed lunch), and after the meetings I went to Strumpshaw Fen! What a place. It was about an hour drive, but it still gave me 6 hours of pure fun (relaxation, peace, bird watching, and pondering).

So the organization that I joined is "The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds" (RSPB), and they do a great job of saving land for wildlife.  As everything in England, these lands/reserves that they provide cost money, unless you have a membership. I have a hard time with this as Idaho has so much State land that you can go into the outdoors wherever you want and get away from people, England - not so much.

So this could be boring, but I am going to keep track of what I see on each outing (at least at first), to keep a record.  This post will include everything, but in the future I will only post new sightings.  TOTAL Species seen today: 37
(note: I am placing them in the order of the book)

1. Mute Swan, 2. Greylag goose, 3. Canada Goose, 4. Shelduck, 5. Shoveler, 6. Mallard, 7. Teal, 8. Pochard, 9. Tufted duck, 10. Black Grouse, 11. Pheasant, 12. Cormorant, 13. March Harrier, 14. Moorhen, 15. Coot, 16. Lapwing, 17. Snipe, 18. Mediterranean gull, 19. Rock dove, 20. Wood pigeon, 21. Collared dove, 22. Grey Heron, 23. Great spotted woodpecker, 24. Pied Wagtail, 25. Wren, 26. Robin, 27. blackbird, 28. Cetti's warbler, 29. Chiffchaff, 30.  Marsh tit, 31. Great tit, 32. Blue tit, 33. Treecreeper, 34. Raven, 35. House sparrow, 36. Chaffinch, 37. Goldfinch.

So I really took it slow today.  It started with a walk through the woods.  The robins are very friendly and don't fly away and hide at your very site, fun bird to watch and get close to.  I saw my first Chinese Water Deer today!  They are pretty cool, however I saw two female during the day and the cool ones are the males as they don't grow antlers but fangs.  They are about the size of a large dog, with a fox looking face: Check it out!

I then sat and watched the pheasants.  There was one rooster who had three hens, and there were 5 other roosters trying to sneak in for some action.  It was quite entertaining, and impressive how the polygymous male retained his ladies, and still managed to graze with the females.

My next stop was to a hide (blind). They build really nice blinds here in UK.  They are large, spacious, and have windows that open for observation or close to keep the room nice and warm.  It was overlooking a marsh, and a very active one at that.  Highlights: 1) The Lapwing! Wow what a marvelous looking bird, and when he flies it's something else.  He looks so graceful, almost flies like hawk.  2) Teal - very colorful duck.  3) Snipe - not always easy to see. 4) Pochard - my grandpa carved and painted a pochard when I was younger and now I got to see one in real life.

Smaller birds along the way!  I needed some help with identifying some of these forsure - I met a knowledgeable birder along the trail that helped me i.d. most of these. Highlights: treecreeper, cetti's warbler (this bird has the most amazing and distinctive song), wren, chiffchaff and chaffinch!

Cetti's warbler

Chaffinch

Wren

Treecreeper

Starting A New Hobby

Hello friends - I am starting a new blog as I start a new adventure.  We moved to the UK in Aug 2011 and I really miss my hobbies of hunting and fishing that the countrysides of the USA has to offer. I have yet to find great outdoor experiences here in the UK until now!

I visited a local "fen", wetland/wildlife reserve near our home and couldn't believe the vast number of beautiful birds in the area. I bought myself a membership and a few birding books;  broke out my binoculars and spotting scope and off I went on a new adventure.  I have always enjoyed the outdoors, spotting wildlife, and even birding but have yet to declare it as a hobby.  I think my Dad has played a big role in this new adventure as we have always had a great number of feeders in the yard and still today points out wildlife wherever we are.

On my first day out, I learned a very interesting thing about birds in the UK which is going to make identification/naming a fun challenge.  I saw a robin and European goldfinch that do not look anything like the American robin and the American goldfinch. Apparently the common names are the same but they are completely different species.  Lots of new birds and a lot of learning names!

European Goldfinch

American Goldfinch

Robin (UK)

American Robin

The other birds that I found fascinating are the tits (interesting name huh?), they come in lots of shapes, sizes and colors! They hang out at all the feeders and are really fun to watch.

Blue tit

Marsh tit

Great tit