It's been a bit of a soggy week at Fairburn Ings this week, with the flooding on the site. However, the floods have brought a lot of wildlife up towards dry land at the visitor centre so we've had a fair amount of wildlife spotted from the comfort and warmth inside.
Flooding at Lin Dike
We've been unable to access the bird feeders at Pickup hide or the feeder screen because of the floods so the only feeders we've been able to keep topped up this week are the wildlife garden and play area feeders. The birds have certainly noticed this so there's a wonderful variety of them, in large numbers, visiting very close to the centre. A great spotted woodpecker has been a regular highlight seen on the wildlife garden feeders. It's often spotted gorging on the buggy nibbles we've got in the feeders there, or flitting between the trees. Nuthatch and willow tit, along with a chattering flock of tree sparrows have also been really regularly spotted.
Great spotted woodpecker thanks to Nigel Blake (rspb-images.com)
The tiny high pitched voices of long tail tits can be heard in the hedgerows around the visitor centre too. This charismatic little bird is always such a lovely sight, and they've visited the feeders a lot this week.
Long tail tit thanks to John Bridges (rspb-images.com)
Its not just birds that have been driven up towards the visitor centre by the floods too, a weasel has been spotted scampering between the play area and the wildflower meadow at the front of the visitor centre.
Weasels taken by Gordon Lane in the summer at Fairburn Ings