Treecreeper

All quiet on the Fen this morning. The Bearded tits were heard but not seen, making the long walk and long wait seem a bit disappointing, but such is wildlife photography. On the way back I spotted a Little Egret, hunched up in the wet fen. There’s water everywhere, the fen is a damp place anyway, but I’ve never seen it so wet. The flooded areas reflect the big Norfolk sky and the golden sun gilds the reeds, a little corner of wilderness.

I notice a bird in a tree and set the camera up to have a look. It’s a Water rail, a secretive creature that’s rarely seen. I think there are quite a few on the Fen, as I’ve often heard their eerie shrieking call, but I’ve only seen them here a couple of times. Looks like this one was trying to keep his feet dry. He was too distant for a decent photo, but I thought I’d show you this for interest.

Walking back through the wood, a group of Long-tailed, Great and Blue tits were foraging in the tree tops, a pair of Treecreepers were with them. Back at the car park, I found a Treecreeper on one of the oaks and tried to photograph this small mouse like bird as it crept up the tree, using it’s needle thin beak to prize insects from the bark. It would creep to the higher branches and then tumble like a falling leaf back to the bottom to begin searching the tree again, always working upwards. Only after repeating this process numerous times was the Treecreeper satisfied that every crevice had been checked and it moved off to search another tree.

The soft winter sun wasn’t quite strong enough to capture this fast moving little bird, but I was pleased to get one photo!

 
(Click images to view larger…)

If you like what you see, please consider sharing![social_share/]

UK & Eire Natural History Bloggers

Similar Posts

  • Spring Bluebells

    It’s been a few years since I last photographed Bluebells, they are such stunningly beautiful flowers, both en-mass and close up. Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s Wayland Wood is a fantastic place to see them. Spring is my favourite time of year, and Spring in a woodland is simply glorious. The first thing that greets you is…

  • On Safari

    The 4×4 bounces along the rough rutted track, rounding a corner we spot the herd. 150 animals strong, they move through the pale dry grass and dust drifts in the air as one individual shakes out its coat. Ear’s flick away flies, a mother calls gently to it’s calf, there’s a roar in the distance….

  • Robin

    A few from the garden today. Decided to try a perch for the Robin and he/she took to it pretty much straight away. The Turtle dove did put in a brief appearance, but quickly wandered off over the other side of the lawn. These last two were a little too centrally composed, so I’ve cropped…

  • Sculthorpe Moor

    Sunday morning was beautifully sunny so I headed over to the Fen, where disappointingly there were no more exotics! All was a bit quiet, except for lots of small birds chirping away. After a long walk, I returned home with exactly zero photos. Not a problem really, I’d say 90% of a wildlife photographers time…

  • Magic Macro

    Visited the Fen for the first time for quite a while yesterday, it’s looking incredible lush right now, and full of insect life despite the rain. The first find was this brightly coloured Common Blue Damselfly. There were quite a few of these around, this one is just finishing his aphid meal. Walking around the…

  • Operation Turtle Dove

    Regular readers will know I have a real passion for this wonderful rare bird. I’ve just heard about Operation Turtle Dove – a three year project to reverse the decline of the Turtle dove. The project is a partnership between the RSPB, Pensthorpe Conservation Trust, Natural England, and Conservation Grade. For more information visit their…

3 Comments

Leave a Reply